The Secrets That Keep Us Up All Night
by Midnight Dahlias
Summary: Again and again, Itachi was plagued with insomnia. One night, it leads him to the site of the massacre, where Sakura is sleepless too, crying over her lost friend. Rated M for language, violence, and mature themes. Later lemons.
1. Insomniacs

**For shiz, I don't own Naruto, or any of these characters.**

**I want to make a warning: facts will be fudged, on purpose or accident. In order to maintain continuity, I will not go back and fix them unless it's a glaring mistake that's getting in the way of plot progression. (Can you tell I've been chewed out before for a wrong age?)**

**I'm not allowed to post lyrics, like I used to do, but I listened to "Up All Night" by Blink 182 while writing this, and it set the tone.**

***Bows* Enjoy.**

Itachi raked a slim hand through his hair. Insomnia again. It was pretty much inevitable. Pressing his palms to his eyes, he sighed, then swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He clicked on the light, squinting a little.

Kisame cracked open a bleary eye, glaring at his partner. "Light. Off." Itachi curled his lip and shut it off. Kisame could get pretty violent when he was awoken prematurely. Itachi wasn't particularly in the mood to get into a fight.

He left the room, snatching his Akatsuki robe and his belt as he went. Slipping his shoes on at the genkan of the hideout, he swept into the night, cloak billowing in the soft breeze. It felt good whipping through his still-untied hair. It wasn't until he met the forest that he pulled his hair back and fastened his belt with his ninja tools.

Up into the tall trees he went, leaping in long strides from branch to branch. Where he was going, not even Itachi knew. He ran and jumped without thought, traveling for the sake of moving, of doing something other than laying on his futon, sleepless.

Itachi didn't even know what kept him up these days. It used to be what he'd done to Konoha, then it was how Sasuke was doing, then it was…..he didn't know. It's as if his brain had become a churning cauldron at that point, so many thoughts and feelings swirling and bubbling like so much boiling poison, he must have blocked it out. Now there was nothing he thought about. His mind was blank, meditative. Yet, sleep refused to come.

On impulse, Itachi changed his direction, curving to the west, dropping from the trees to run on the damp grassy ground. As he dodged tree roots and rocks, Itachi continued to stew. All this insomnia. Was it affecting his judgment? It was definitely affecting his ability to use his Sharingan. His eyes were tired and sore all the time, and using the special technique made his head throb.

He wasn't aware of how long he ran, until a familiar sight loomed in front of him. He stopped and stared at it. What had led him here? There was nothing here for him. This was dangerous, even for a S-class criminal like him.

The faded Uchiha sign was barely visible on the side of the gate, which was wide open, as if inviting him in. Itachi turned on his Sharingan, wincing slightly in pain as his irises soaked in red. He felt a migraine coming on, but he persisted.

Sensing no life in the compound, he slowly stepped into the courtyard. It had clearly been abandoned for a while. The grass overgrew, the hedges needed trimming, and the lanterns that used to light up the compound with a fiery red glow were in tatters from the rain. He continued through the space, looking at the crumbling architecture. It used to be so beautiful.

It was also a testament to the corruption and greed of his clan. To invent a jitsu that required you to kill your best friend? Itachi closed his eyes against the memories. His face would never show it, but inside, he was crying. _Weakling. Coward._ He scolded himself.

Suddenly, his eyes shot open, looking around in what would be called panic in anyone else. He swept around the corners of the buildings, so fast it would take another Sharingan user to see him. He came to the last structure at the far northeast corner of the walled community. His back landed up against one of the sides, ears pricked and listening. How did he not notice someone was here?

Crying. He heard crying. Was he going insane? Was he so far gone, that he heard his 15 year old self sobbing like a small child after the massacre? He shut his eyes once more. _Get a grip._ He concentrated harder on the sound. It was a girl, not a child, but not grown. His age when he- He stopped there as the sound changed. A sniffle, and a shaky breath. She was calming down. Itachi opened his eyes and stood still, waiting. She was moving. Closer to the door, closer…..wait, wait.

Now.

Itachi's hand shot out, knocking the girl firmly at the base of her skull, shocking her brain. She gasped, eyes wide, before she fell forward limply. Kneeling, Itachi turned her over, brushing her pink locks away from her face. Still breathing.

Her eyes snapped open and she took out a kunei, quickly going in for a kill strike. Itachi dodged back and grabbed her wrist. God, was he totally blind? First he misses her being here, then he misses that she's still awake. The girl snarled, her sea foam eyes boring into him. The moonlight glinted off the blade, shining brightly into Itachi's eyes. He didn't let himself blink.

The girl's eyes widened, her mouth dropping in shock. The kunei slipped from her fingers, falling with a dull thump on the overgrown lawn. Their eyes were locked on each other's. There was a long silence that unsettled Itachi. He could feel her deep anger, but it was being buried under other emotions. Shock. Fear.

As he looked into her eyes, red from crying, all he felt was sadness. Her anguished sobs he had heard reflected what he had buried long before, and now a crack appeared in the dam, a trickle of old emotions seeping through.

She blinked and the ugly expression returned to her face, stronger than before, twisted with rage. Her other hand moved to form a seal. Seeing this, Itachi twisted into her head, placing a genjitsu over her.

Her eyes went blank and she slumped down into unconsciousness. Itachi gently closed her eyes.

No doubt her intense fury had alerted anyone sensitive enough to feel chakra. People would be arriving soon to the compound. He could leave her here. It was obviously the easiest way to escape and disappear. But a question burned deeply in him.

Who was the kunochi that cried so fervently for the Uchiha clan?

Unmasked chakra signals began speeding in his direction. He had to make his decision quickly, before any shinobi appeared. Only a select few would accept his presence here. His gaze turned to the pink haired girl again. He needed to know, but now was not the time. His foolish mistake could not be undone, but it needed to be covered from the Akatsuki. Explanations would not be easy if he showed up with a Konoha girl in his arms.

With a hand symbol, he released the genjitsu over the girl. Before her eyes fluttered open, he was over the wall and into the forest, erasing his chakra trail as he went.

Back to the Akatsuki, back to his futon, and back to his insomnia.

**Please review! The more I see people reading this, the more I remember and am motivated to post another chapter.**


	2. Questions to Answer

**I still don't own Naruto. All I own is this laptop and a phone, and they are both for crap, so suing me isn't going to get you much.**

**Enjoy!**

"You saw WHAT?"

"Run that by me one more time."

Sakura was sitting propped up on pillows on her hospital bed, a sick grimace on her face. Naruto was turning a deep red in anger. He turned to storm out of the room, but Kakashi grabbed him by the collar. Her former sensei stared at her unfathomably. Tsunade-sama stood with her arms crossed under her large breasts, her brow furrowed. Sakura sighed.

"I walked out of the shrine, and Itachi tried to incapacitate me. I tried to stab him, but he put a genjitsu on me. Then I woke up laying on the ground with Naruto screaming at me."

"I see."

"Mou, Kakashi-sensei! Let me go! I'm going to go hunt down Teme Sr.!"

"No."

Sakura sighed again, this time more heavily. She was deeply confused about that night, but it's hard to have a discussion like that when everybody is freaking out about how an S-class missing nin made it as far as the Uchiha compound without being detected.

"Kakashi-san, take Naruto out of here. Let the pervert deal with him." Kakashi nodded curtly, dragging a wriggling Naruto from the room. Tsunade watched them leave, then turned on Sakura.

"What's wrong with you?" Sakura looked up, eyes wide. Tsunade could tell she was confused?

"Ah, nothing, Hokage-sama."

"Don't give me that utter bullshit." Tsunade glared. "What is it?"

Sakura shifted and looked away. "…Am I the only one wondering why he left me?"

Tsunade's brow beetled further in thought. "Of course I am. My best guess is he thought the job beneath him. He was probably doing something else in the compound and you just stumbled in on him." Her death glare turned back on. "What were you doing at the Uchiha shrine anyway? You can't still be mourning!" Sakura refused to face her, afraid of crying. "He isn't dead, you know! Why do you think I keep sending ANBU out to find him?" Tsunade snorted. "You shouldn't give up so easily."

"I haven't given up!" Sakura burst out angrily, holding back tears. "I only pray for his safe return!"

"Good." The Hokage turned to leave. Hand on the handle, she said softly, "Don't wrap your head around it too much, Sakura." As the door closed behind her, Sakura let the tears fall. She wiped them away angrily.

She knew that answer from Tsunade was complete crap. She hadn't seen the look that Itachi had in his eyes.

When Sakura had first seen him, his eyes were hard and still, with a look that could cut you like a knife. Not surprising seeing as he could make you live a thousand days of torture in a few seconds.

This was different. When his eyes lit up, she didn't even register that it was Itachi. She saw the Sharingan flicker, and behind, a deep guilt and sadness. For a split second, she saw the child inside, screaming for release. She saw Sasuke. Then the Sharingan came back, and the marks on his face became clearer. Yet, when she made an ugly face at him in fury, the sorrow still shone through, like the moon reflected in a rippling pond.

What was she to make of it? The man was a heartless, cruel, evil bastard, she was sure of it. But how could a cold killer, a man who had no trouble torturing his own brother, look so forlorn and anguished?

Trick of the light, she decided. No way. Insomnia was obviously to blame.

Too many nights not sleeping. Too many nights worrying for Naruto and Sasuke. Her only release was to go to the grounds of the Uchiha estate, abandoned since Sasuke left. She didn't want anyone knowing that's were she went, so she only maintained the shrine for the clan at the back of the compound.

Sakura pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes, and sighed, willing the soreness of sleeplessness and endless crying to disappear.

If only it would. If only she could have some peace….

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Itachi stared dully at the rock wall of the hideout. It was stupid, going back to Konoha. No matter how well the cave was hidden, Konoha was still close enough to launch a full scale attack that they would have to run from, sacrificing their best observation point, and threatening his cover.

Kisame knew something was up. "Itachi." He grunted in response. "What the fuck is up with you?" Itachi grunted again, leaning further into his interlaced hands. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" Kisame slammed his sword through the table, shattering it to matchwood. The end that Itachi was leaning on was still intact. Itachi rolled his eyes to look at a fuming Kisame. He lifted his elbows from what was left of the table. It fell with a clunk. He slowly stood and approached the shark man, whose gills were rippling with anger.

"Why is it so important to you?"

Kisame growled, but didn't say anything. Itachi let out a derisive "hn" and turned back to the room they shared.

He couldn't get the pink haired ninja out of his head. Her crying wouldn't stop ringing in his ears. He was overwhelmed by the sadness in him that had found a voice through the girl. Her emotions were as free and open as a wide river, a river he had long dammed up and tried to drain completely.

He felt trapped in these walls. The urge to return to Konoha surged inside him, but not to see the old relic to blood and sacrifice in the name of power, but to see the girl, to ask her why? Why do you cry over a clan where every last one of them sold their souls for power? Why mourn the passing of a family that savored the taste of innocent blood? These thoughts troubled him more than they should. Why couldn't he just brush it off?

The feeling tugged insistently at his numb heart. Finally, he grabbed his robe and belt, turning on his Sharingan as he did. Everyone was away from the entrance. He would sneak out, find the kunochi. She had the answers, he was sure of it, even to the ones he hadn't asked yet.

As he slipped out the door, one last crazy thought passed his mind.

_Maybe she will bring me peace._

Itachi shook his head vigorously. Not possible. There was no peace for him, not after everything. He would take the war within himself if it meant peace for Konoha.

He took off at a fast clip across the meadows and hills, entering the forest, faster than before. The sun had begun its decent to the horizon, staining the sky a deep orange. As the trees obscured the view, the sun had turned blood red.

He closed his eyes, and ran.

**Review please! I won't become a better writer if you guys don't tell me what's good, and what needs tweaking.  
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	3. Fists of Fury!

**No owny Naruto.**

It didn't take very long to get to the walled side of the village. With a purpose in mind, the trip seemed much shorter, or maybe that was just because he found himself desperate to see the girl again.

He zig-zagged up the wall by use of a nearby tree, and was over the edge on a rooftop. He skirted the chakra net set by an ANBU for intruders. Useless against his Sharingan. Hopping from roof to roof, Itachi looked intently for her trace, any wisp of her energy that she had left behind. When nothing was to be found, he looped around in a wide arc, zipping at great speed.

Nothing. He checked again, concentrating harder. She wasn't here. That wasn't right. Her headband indicated she was of Konoha, and surely Tsunade wouldn't have let her just go after she was found recovering from a genjitsu-

Mentally, he slapped himself extremely hard. No doubt the Hokage had deduced the genjitsu was his, even if the girl hadn't remembered who had put it on her. He changed track to the Hokage's tower in the center of town. He easily evaded the guards and leapt into an open window, following the hall to Tsunade's office.

The door shot off its hinges, slamming into the opposite wall. Itachi stood stoically as his hair blew wildly in the wind made by the door. Obviously Shizune had put in a reinforced door, finally. She usually went through a stack of high quality wood in a week.

"GET IN HERE, JACK ASS!" Ignoring the insult, Itachi calmly strode into the office. Tsunade was standing a few paces from the door jamb, breathing like a dragon. "You better have a DAMNED good explanation!"

"I'd like some specifics."

"Oh, I don't know, how about ALL OF IT? What were you thinking coming to Konoha, especially at night, especially at the Uchiha estate, and ESPECIALLY WITH MY APPRENTICE THERE?" She aimed a nasty punch at him, which he ducked.

"I didn't know she was your apprentice." Itachi's interest piqued. A student of Tsunade's? She must be talented, extremely so.

Tsunade pursed her lips, folding her arms under her overly large bosom. "Yes."

"What was she doing at the compound?" Tsunade's lips thinned even further. Itachi could see the argument in her head. To the public eye, the estate was abandoned, owned by the Hokage until she decided to sell it or give it to the town. In secret, Itachi, as the oldest known living Uchiha, held the deeds and had rights to the land.

"She knows your brother. He was one of her close friends." That answered the big question. She wasn't crying for the clan, she was crying for Sasuke. Come to think of it, Itachi could remember a girl with pink hair the last time he came to Konoha. But she was just a child then. Itachi wasn't sure what to feel about this new development. "Now, what were you doing there? What you did, it makes Naruto look like a genius, and that is saying something."

Itachi made a breath through his nose, not quite a laugh, but an acknowledgement of humor. Tsunade arched an eye brow. "I came to see the house I grew up in."

It was Tsunade's turn to snort. "No way you came just because you felt sentimental."

"I don't know." Tsunade stopped, eyes widening.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know why I came there." Itachi repeated. "I couldn't sleep, I went out running, and I ended up at the gate."

There was a long pause.

"What's her name?"

Tsunade's eyes turned into tiny slits, a dangerous look gleaming from them. "You want to know her name." It wasn't a question. Itachi nodded curtly. "What exactly do you have planned for her? Has your obsession gone so far?"

"What are you talking about." Itachi's voice was flat.

"You are NOT going to mess with her just to make Sasuke hate you! Haven't you caused enough trouble in the name of your brother?" Tsunade came at him, fist flying. Itachi dodged her around the office, her stalking him every step of the way. "You will NEVER see her again, you understand me? I'm just now seeing her get over Sasuke abandoning her and Naruto, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO UNDO THAT BECAUSE YOU FEEL GUILTY!" Itachi landed lightly on the desk in a crouch. From that angle, his face was fully visible over the high collar of his robe.

Tsunade froze, fist still in the air, ready to land a heavy, bone-crushing blow. Slowly her arm lowered, face dropping into a blank face of shock.

Itachi still stared intensely at her, though he didn't know why she had ceased her onslaught.

"Haruno Sakura," Tsunade said resignedly, looking away."Last I saw her, she was at the hospital." She shook her head. "Uchiha, the Land of Fire may owe you, and so do I, but if you hurt her," She looked up, the fire back in her eyes. "So help me God, I will beat you in to a pulp, blow your cover, and throw you to the Akatsuki." Itachi nodded slowly, relaxing into a standing position.

As Itachi leapt out the window, he softly heard Tsunade mutter something: "Hope she doesn't beat him up too bad."


	4. I Give These Secrets To You

**Oh em gee, I still don't own Naruto! What a shocker.**

**This site still won't let me put up lyrics, but I wrote this to "Into The Fire" by Thirteen Senses.  
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Sakura was grateful to be out of the hospital, back in her apartment. The scrutiny from everyone she came in contact with almost put her over the edge. She was sure everybody could see right through her, see the emotions churning inside her, see the things she was thinking of. The paperwork took so long, it was sundown by the time she arrived at her apartment.

Peeling off her shirt with a sigh, she headed for a well deserved shower. In the hospital, all she got was sponge baths. She could walk for God's sake! They made her feel like an invalid. Her hair was almost three days unwashed, extra oily from all the stress she was under. She turned the water on as hot as she could bear, and stood under it, willing the psychological dirt to wash off along with the regular stuff. She let the shower's jet hit against her forehead and breathed slowly through her mouth. After washing herself several times until she was red and raw from her vigorous scrubbing, she stepped out, dried off, and pulled on a fresh change of clothes. Her haggard appearance in the mirror stopped her in her tracks.

Sakura stared at her reflection in the mirror intensely. Slowly, her face contorted as she looked into her own eyes. With a scream, she ripped the glass from the wall, pulling out bits of the drywall with it, and threw it with monster strength out the door and into her living room. Instead of her customary crying, she screamed like an enraged animal. Rage, hurt, anguish, it burst out of her like it had a life of its own. She screamed long and loud, until her lungs burned for oxygen.

When she had let all of it out, she was spent and tired. She sighed for the millionth time in the past two days. The neighbors were going to be beating down the doors any second now, either complaining of the noise, or worse, concerned about her. She skirted the broken glass and collapsed on the couch, head in her hands.

O*O*O*O*O*

It wasn't hard to find Sakura. Her chakra was left a mark anywhere she was. Itachi picked up the trail at the hospital, following it to a small apartment building, one of the older ones. Itachi remembered it used to be abandoned. Sasuke and he would play all day in it, despite the warnings of their parents. It must have been bought and fixed up.

He rounded into the alley and scaled up the side, to the window of the top apartment. Hearing the shower running, he slid up the window and hopped in. It wasn't the most luxurious thing ever, but it had space, which was more than most apartment ads could boast. _Tsunade certainly does take care of her._

The shower turned off. Itachi ducked into the kitchen, performing hand seals and brushing the walls. Green sutras appeared on the walls, then vanished. Moving to the bedroom, he did the same, circling around the living room, until he was beside the bathroom. He stood perpendicular to the door, against the wall. When she opened the door, she would face the living room, away from him. The door squeaked open, but she didn't appear.

There was a crumbling sound, and a wild scream from the bathroom, followed by a large mirror, that hit the wall and shattered into many sharp pieces. The girl he remembered walked into his sight, trembling, screaming until Itachi was sure she was about to have a heart attack. She stopped, took a deep, shuddering breath and flopped dejectedly on the couch.

He passed around the sofa to stand in front of Sakura. Her head was in her hands, so she didn't see him. Itachi waited patiently. It wasn't his way to call attention to himself.

Her hands dropped from her face, and she looked towards the broken mirror, where Itachi was standing. Slowly, her eyes traveled up his legs, over his robe, and to his face, half hidden by the cloak.

"Why. The fuck. Are. You. Here." She spoke tensely. Itachi didn't answer. What was he to say? Why did he have to come here? It was utterly stupid. He should leave. But he didn't. He stayed rooted on the spot. Getting no response, Sakura stood up sharply, her face inches from his. "WHY?"

He just looked at her. His eyes roamed her face, ugly with her anger. It still couldn't hide her smooth skin, pink locks still sticking to her cheeks, sea green eyes holding a deep well of emotions.

"Get the fuck out of here! Now! Before Tsunade gets here!" Sakura snorted derisively, smirking and crossing her arms like her mentor was wont to do. She was clearly like Tsunade in many ways. "You may be the Uchiha genius, but I highly doubt you could hide completely from the Hokage. She was first to find me, after you left me there." She seemed smug.

"She knows I'm here." Sakura's face dropped into shock and horror.

"What?"

Itachi sighed mentally. You'd think he wasn't talking at all. "I have her permission. She gave me your name." An answer came to his mind. "I was curious." Sakura stepped back, hands up, keeping a barrier between them. "Who cries for a clan long lost, a clan clearly filled with violent criminals?"

Rage filled her eyes once more. "You made Sasuke into what he is!"

A bitter taste filled his mouth. "Better than what they made me." She still stared at him, full of fury. "Would you have preferred I followed through with every order? That I had killed him, instead of protecting him from the teachings of our father?" he spat. Sakura looked taken aback. "You would have wanted him to be taught to love a friend dearly until the day you were expected to kill him for a forbidden technique?" The words spilled from his lips without relent, pouring out every dark nightmare that had haunted him. With every new revelation, Sakura's face became more and more shocked, lips moving silently in horror.

"If I had not, someone else would have, brutally, without compassion, taking Sasuke with the rest of them. When the clan rose up to overthrow the Hokage and take over the nation, I was the only one they knew could do it. What if they succeeded? Sasuke would have been raised to kill, to shun every emotion, to block out his humanity." Itachi's voice turned dark and thin. "I made him what he is, yes. I took the burden of hatred and guilt upon myself, so one day he could have what I never was allowed; peace. Someday, he will kill me, and I will go to Hell for him, so he may forever be free of the evil and corruption that had been bred into our clan." He stepped into her space, looking down at her, blood red meeting cool green. "Would you rather he was me?" But it came out wrong. Itachi's voice cracked.

His Sharingan wouldn't hold. He felt it recede as his vision blurred. Clenching his jaw, her tried to bring back his iron self-control, rein all of it back in. But her eyes, searching his, it was pulling hard in his chest. She had taken all this in, and she still wanted to hear more. Her face was so open, inviting him to pour all the evil out. He gritted his teeth harder, taking a deep breath through his nose.

"It makes sense to cry for Sasuke, for all I've put him through. But he-he would…" Itachi couldn't finish.

Suddenly, Sakura grabbed his face, stood on her toes and landed a kiss on his lips. Itachi didn't pause to think about why. She was offering to absorb all the hatred, the guilt, the deep sorrow that forever burdened him. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in tight. Her fingers tangled in his hair, clutching almost desperately. His mouth slanted over hers, his lips plying hers to open. She obliged readily, her tongue snaking in to touch his in what he dared call a worshipful caress.

Itachi pressed harder into her as he tasted the tears that had slid from her closed eyes. He could feel in the way she curved her back to fit against him, and the way her hands were grasping tightly around his black locks, it wasn't just him that needed comfort and solace. He could feel the emptiness in Sakura's heart, the place where the questions seared in. The rejection of Sasuke leaving still hurt. But here Itachi was, finally filling the void, lifting her own guilt, answering the long burning questions.

O*O*O*O*O*O*

I was still reeling from the appearance of Itachi in my house, and all the things he had just told me, but somehow, it didn't matter. Something he said, something in his voice, something in the way he said it finally broke my hate.

He was trying to protect Sasuke, the way I had, sacrificing everything to ensure his safety. Sasuke had still scorned us both, taking the path of a criminal, killing himself, no matter what anyone said or did. This hurt streamed out of my every pore, and in that moment, when he spoke of his brother, I saw the cold shell dissolve, and the same pain became clear.

I pressed deep into the kiss, trying to take away all the bilious things I had said about him. My tongue swirled around his, tasting every corner, absorbing his essence. He responded in kind, flooding a kind of fervor I never knew existed into me. It was like our minds fused together, pushing back and forth like the churning sea, salty, sweet, and true.

When he finally pulled back, tears still streaked my face, my eyes still half closed, lips parted, waiting. He studied my face again, brushing the tears away with a relaxed finger. He stepped back, gently setting me back on my feet. He took my wrists, pulling my fingers from his soft hair, and kissed my hands, never taking his eyes from mine.

Then, before I knew it, he was gone, with the shards of mirror all over the floor. As the light caught them, I could see my own face, reflected a thousand times. Red puffy face, tear tracks, and swollen lips. But past that I saw my eyes. There was no one in the room, but for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel alone.

**Again, reviews are appreciated!**


	5. Help

**Don't own Naruto, yada yada blah blah blah.**

Itachi whipped as fast as he could out of Konoha, over the wall within seconds. An almost full moon shone overhead. He jumped up above the tree line to be under its soft light.

His heart felt full, bubbles popping in his stomach. He touched his lips and realized he was smiling. A small smile, but it was the first true smile in years. He stopped, staring up at the moon.

He thrust out his arms to the glow in the sky, closing his eyes. Itachi hadn't felt this way in the longest time, released, free, warm. He wanted to hold onto it forever.

The feel of her lips on his, the heat of her small frame pressing into him, the smell of her hair, the taste of her mouth. It was all he thought he was never to have. How she could accept all he said, he didn't know, but it only mattered that she did. She was so beautiful, so young, so free, all the things he was before it all happened, and she had given it back to him for a few seconds. She really had-

A sharp pain stopped his thoughts dead. He gasped, but his chest felt like it was being crushed. He couldn't be breathe. His pulse pounded in his ears. What was happening?

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to gather his thoughts. The only thing that came to mind was going back to the village. But that was risky, especially in this condition.

He doubled over, desperately trying to draw air. A metallic taste filled his mouth. He coughed. At least a cup of blood, black and sour, spilled from his lips. It was a little easier to breathe now, but the crushing was coming back. His heart was in a vice, struggling to circulate blood. He was getting dizzy.

He teetered on the edge of the branch. His chakra control was going, the branch would snap any second now. With a crack, the branch gave, sending Itachi tumbling down.

For a few seconds, he lay still. Then, with great effort, he dragged himself to his feet, fighting the blackness that threatened to take over.

He had no choice.

Itachi took the deepest breath he could, and took off in the opposite direction, towards the closest source of help: Konoha.

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Shizune sighed, picking up the door. Thank God for lamination, and the new hinges. She had put in weak wooden pegs in the hinges, instead of metal pins. The wood had snapped when Tsunade took out the door, sparing the hinges, and thus the door jamb. She set the door in the jamb, slipping in new pegs. _Good as new, _she thought. Dusting her hands, she turned to leave in time to see a black and red mess crash into the wall in front of her. Shizune shrieked, jumping back. The thing make a choking sound and black blood spilled all over the floor. It turned over, wiping the sticky blood from its lips. She gasped, recognizing the shinobi that no one was supposed to know came to Konoha.

"Ts-Tsunade…." Itachi mumbled thickly, coughing hard, blood pouring with every syllable. Shizune nodded, running to the office, flinging open the door she had just fixed. Tsunade was already standing at her desk, looking sharply at Shizune.

"What was that?"

"Itachi! There's blood everywhere!" Shizune's words came rapid fire. Tsunade dashed past her within a second, over to Itachi before she could blink. The Hokage held Itachi's face in her hands, eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. Itachi took a shuddering breath, gurgling. Deep red foam bubbled from his lips, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he went limp.

"Get the medic nin up here!" Tsunade screamed, ripping the Akatsuki robe from Itachi as well as his ring and tossing them aside. "Tell them now, and swear them to secrecy!" As Shizune ran out, she saw the glow of healing chakra, and Tsunade's frustrated muttering, "You ass, you fucking ass, live, you goddamn motherfucking son of a whore! I can't believe this, you're such a dickhead…"

**Aaaaaand you can wait for the rest. Cliffhanger! Whee! Review please!**


	6. The Uchiha Clan Curse

**I don't own Naruto, I just like messing with the characters.**

"Suction!"

"I've got a pulse!"

"Damn it, there's blood everywhere."

"No injuries, this is all internal."

"What? You sure?"

"I need a scope here."

Itachi felt the darkness puncture, a small pinprick of light shining through. It came forward, slowly at first, then rushing closer and closer until his eyes cracked open. Everything was just blurry colors. Something was slid down his windpipe, making him gag a little. He was too tired and weak to even cough.

"Jesus!"

"What? What do you see?"

"This is hemorrhagic, Hokage-sama."

"Shit." He heard Tsunade swear darkly. The tube in his throat was removed. "Douche bag!" Someone pulled his eyelids up, flashing a light into them. He twitched against the sudden glare. "Can you hear me? Blink if you can." He fluttered his eyelids in response. "Good. Did someone attack you?" He shook his head weakly. He still couldn't see what was going on.

"Let's get him on the stretcher."

"NO!" Tsunade was still somewhat close to Itachi, and her shout hurt his head. "He stays here!"

"But Hokage-sama, we don't have the-"

"He will NOT go to the hospital. Get me a vial of Factor VIII and hang some plasma."

"With all due respect Tsunade-sama," Itachi recognized Shizune's voice. She was speaking in a low whisper. "He needs to go in for tests."

"I know what he has," Tsunade's voice was dead and flat. "Hey! Where's the damn meds?" He heard people walking from the room. "ALL OF YOU!" More people moving, and the door shutting.

After a few seconds of silence, Shizune spoke again. "You do?"

"Yes." Itachi blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. Slowly, Tsunade became clearer. He saw now that he was on a couch in her office, her kneeling next to him, and Shizune hovering nearby, a troubled look on her face. Tsunade's face was hard, void of expression except for the look of sadness in her eyes. The edges of everything were still fuzzy, but at least he could see.

He wormed a hand up from under a blanket that someone had put over him to rub his eyes. When he had worked the tension from his heavy eyes, he looked down, eyebrow raised. Looking up, he saw Shizune blushing slightly.

Tsunade was unmoved. "You were covered in blood, and your clothes mark you as a missing nin." He raised his eyebrow further. She looked angry. "It's not like you're naked, you idiot." Her face relaxed, releasing the mask she held for the medics' benefit. Tsunade put her fingers to her temples, sighing heavily. "I was waiting for this. I was just hoping it would hold off for a little longer."

Itachi looked at her, and he knew that his clans' curse had caught up with him. He closed his eyes tight and let his head drop on the armrest. Shizune looked confusedly between them.

"What? Tsunade-sama, what's wrong?"

"He has Nabe's." Shizune sucked in a breath.

"Nabe's? But there hasn't been a reported case since-"

"Since before the Uchiha clan was eliminated, yes, I know." Tsunade sighed again. "Inbreeding. Sharingan was selectively bred out of Byakugan, which was already selectively bred from special ninja. Itachi," She paused. Itachi opened his eyes to see Tsunade gazing at him sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry. I can give you medicine, but you know….it is eventually…."

Shizune put a hand over her mouth. "Fatal." Her eyes became glassy. Itachi shut his eyes again. He didn't want to see that.

Nabe's disease. Within two generations of Sharingan, ninja of the clan, especially the boys, would start bleeding into their mucous membranes, causing hemorrhaging. As they adjusted the breeding, less and less severe cases were reported, and the age it arrived at was later and later. By the time Itachi was born, only a few were afflicted with the disease. But Itachi knew his father, before his death, was fighting the early stages of it: headaches, tiredness, soreness of the joints.

The pieces fit together. Itachi had inherited the disease from his father, and probably his mother too. All the symptoms he had tried to brush off as insomnia were the warning signs. Within a few years, despite how much blood he was transfused, he would suffocate on his own fluid, or he would start bleeding into his brain, and that would be it. No cure, only topical treatment.

In a way, he was glad. Nabe's would make him weaker, making it easier for Sasuke to kill him. He would just have to survive long enough to see it happen.

The door opened again, and a team of medical ninja rushed into the room. Tsunade got up, fixing her face again. Itachi watched her as she slid a catheter into his lower arm, hooked up the plasma, and injected the factor into his IV line. Itachi could feel his lungs clearing, breathing becoming easier. His blood pressure started to come back up, his vision becoming as it was.

Tsunade shooed the medics from the room once again, this time locking the door behind her. She turned to face him. "Once you finish the plasma, you have to go. No doubt the Akatsuki will be wondering about you." Itachi's lip twitched. He hadn't even been thinking of them. "I'll have your clothes ready for you by then. Shizune!" She barked sharply at her assistant, making the woman jump. They left the room through the side door, muttering to each other. Itachi couldn't find it in himself to care what they were talking about.

He stared up at the ceiling. It was still dark outside. He guessed it might have been about midnight, unless he grossly misjudged how long he had passed out for.

Nabe's. He had Nabe's. He wondered if Sasuke had inherited it too, hoping against hope that he hadn't.

Blinking, he suddenly remembered Sakura. So fitting that he had found a person who would accept everything he had done on the day he received his death sentence. What irony. Obviously God was torturing him. Itachi stared at the plasma dripping into his bloodstream. Drip by drip, extending his miserable life.

_Not for much longer._

**Reviews are always appreciated!**


	7. A Day in the Life of Konoha

**Not owning of Naruto, please. Please no sue.**

Sakura opened her eyes. The sun shone through the window, filtering through the branches and leaves of the tree out in front. The leaves fluttered, sending a kaleidoscope of green dancing over the ceiling.

She remembered the night before, and sat bolt upright. That had to be a dream, yes? Right? RIGHT? Throwing back the covers, she ran to the living room. The glass on the floor. The window facing the alley still open. She started hyperventilating. _What got into me? Dear God, I've kissed the most evil man on Earth! _Her stomach clenched, making her double over. _Alright, alright, calm down. It was probably just a genjitsu or something. No need to vomit. _She took deep breaths through her nose, willing the disgust to go away.

With a good shake, the last of the uncertainty fell away, and she was completely sure she had imagined it.

As she got on her clothes, made her breakfast, and collected her things for work, she repeatedly had to shove the niggling in the back of her mind. _Get a freaking grip, Sakura._ She headed for the door, pausing to look at the shattered mirror on the floor, considering cleaning it up.

A chill writhed up her spine, making her shiver. She slipped on her shoes and walked out the door, locking it firmly, as if trying to lock away the memories.

Sakura put on a cheery façade for the walk to the Hokage's office. She waved to people she knew, exchanging small talk.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" A familiar blond came running up to her, a rush of orange and black. "You're out of the hospital!" Naruto grinned warmly. Sakura laughed. Though Naruto could be annoying at times, his smile was infectious. "You ready to hunt down the older Teme?"

Sakura's smile instantly dropped, a dark glare taking up residence on her otherwise pretty face. Naruto noticed this and took a step back. She forcibly shook this off as well, smirking darkly. "Oh you wait until I get my hands on him, Naruto." He chuckled weakly, still freaked out by her sudden change in demeanor. "You going to training?"

Her revert to normalcy seemed to soothe Naruto, who put his customary grin back on. "Nope! I'm going to the Hokage's office with you!"

She blinked. "Really? What for?"

"She says she has a mission for me." He shrugged. "If Tsunade-baa-san gives me a mission personally, it must be a good one!" Sakura nodded, motioning for him to follow her.

A block from the Hokage's residence, Sakura saw Hinata and waved. Hinata had recently begun classes for healing. Hinata went to wave back, then saw Naruto, looked away, and blushed.

"Mou, Sakura, she didn't wave to us."

An evil idea crept into Sakura's head. "Hey, why don't you go over and say hi? I'll wait."

"Yeah! That's a good idea!" Naruto rushed over to the Hyuuga heir, whose blush deepened with every step nearer he got. "Hi, Hinata!"

"Ah….um….hi, Naruto-kun." She studied her feet intently. Sakura followed Naruto over at a slow pace, watching with amusement. "Training today?"

"Nah, I have a mission from the Hokage!"

Hinata looked up with admiring eyes. Internally, Sakura snorted. It was so obvious to anyone other than Naruto that the young woman was totally infatuated with him. "Good luck, Naruto-kun."

"Thanks!" he exclaimed, puffing out his chest. Sakura was really fighting to hold the laughter in. Hinata looked back at her toes, shuffling them a little bit.

"Naruto….*chuckle snort* we need to get to Tsunade-sama."

"Oh! Yes! Got to go, Hinata. Talk to you later!" Hinata nodded with a tiny smile. As Naruto and Sakura headed off, Sakura spied Hinata looking longingly at Naruto, and began to laugh. "Mou! Sakura! What's so funny?" That made it even better. Sakura was positively dying with laughter, tears running from her eyes, face turning red. "Sakura-chan!"

She stood as the giggles subsided, wiping her tears away and straightening her shirt. "Naruto, you really are a dobe."

"SAKURA!" Naruto was highly offended. Sakura cracked up again.

"AHAHAHAHAHA You really have no idea! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"What? I have no idea of what?"

"Naruto, why do you think Hinata blushes so much around you? HAHAHAHA!"

"I don't know…." Naruto rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "It's really weird."

Sakura collected herself again. "For God's sake, Naruto, she likes you!"

Naruto immediately turned all shades of red very quickly, his expression frozen. "Wh-what?" Sakura slapped her forehead. _Dobe._ "She can't like me!"

"Why not?" Sakura frowned.

"Because she can't! There is no way she likes me!"

"Oh really? You seen the way she looks at you?"

"She-" Naruto paused, eyes wide. He whipped around, staring in the direction the Hyuuga had slunk off. "She likes me?" His lips parted in amazement.

Sakura gave herself a self-satisfied smirk. _Haruno Sakura, matchmaker._

The clock in the center of town began to gong. Sakura looked up sharply. "SHIT it's already nine! Come on, idiot!" She seized Naruto's arm, and with her monstrous strength, hauled ass to the Hokage's building. By the time they got to Tsunade's office, Naruto was covered in dust from head to toe, eyes rolling.

"Gomen nasai, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura instantly bowed deeply in apology, grabbing Naruto's neck to make him mimic the movement. Tsunade made a light "che" sound.

"Uzumaki, here." Sakura released Naruto so he could take the scroll from Tsunade's hand. As soon as his fingers gripped the paper, Tsunade's hand clenched tightly on it. Naruto looked up with a questioning expression. Tsunade's face was a frozen mask of seriousness. Sakura blinked blankly. Rarely was she ever with a look of such deep determination. "Tell no one what you read in this scroll, understand? Ask no questions. Do not, under any circumstances, seek to find out what you are carrying. Follow the precautions to the letter, and be as fast as you can. If I do not see you by sundown two days from now, I will assume you are dead, because you did not listen to me." The woman's knuckles blanched white. Naruto stared at her. _Everyone is acting funny today….._ He nodded curtly, fixing his face into a mirror of her's.

As soon as her hand was off the scroll, Naruto was out the window and gone. Tsunade gazed out the window at his retreating form, until he disappeared into the trees. She sighed.

This lapse was momentary, and her attention snapped onto Sakura, who stood a little straighter at her sudden scrutiny. "You as well, Haruno. Do not repeat what has happened in this office to anyone." Sakura nodded.

"Hai."

Tsunade locked her gaze on Sakura for a minute more, before she cracked a grin. "I can tell on your face, Sakura."

"W-what?" She was startled. For the moment, she had no idea what the Hokage was talking about.

"Well, he blocked the walls with a stealth jitsu, so I don't know the details, but I'm guessing it got a little hot and heavy didn't it?" The realization that hit Sakura felt like a bucket of ice water.

"THAT WAS REAL?" Tsunade sat back a little, frowning.

"What are you talking about?"

"The-shu-eh-ke-nim-fuh-" Sakura sputtered like a moron.

"I remember Itachi coming in and asking to see you, me giving him permission, and the fact that I couldn't spy on your apartment because a high level jitsu was all over the walls." Tsunade frowned deeper. "Unless you saw another missing nin in your home, everything with Itachi was real."

"WHAT?" Sakura felt herself hyperventilating again. Tsunade pressed her fingers to her temples, as if her student was giving her a migraine. "So, he, he really did-and Sasuke-with the clan-and all that stuff and-"

"True. All of it."

"Uchiha-and his brother-SERIOUSLY?" Sakura couldn't control the volume of her voice. Tsunade curled her lip and twisted a pinky sarcastically in her ear.

"Yes, for God's sake! Bloody hell, you don't have to shout."

"And I…..I…..I kissed….."

The floor suddenly swung up to say hi to Sakura's face.

"Bugger. Everyone keeps passing out!"

_**HUGE FREAKING HINT:**_** The next story's prologue begins in this chapter. Yeah, I think you'd have to be blind to miss that.**

**Review!**

**Special thanks to Mischa Rowe for all her reviews!**

**Itachi:**** Which one of you called me an emo bitch?**

**Writer: *****cowers* Uh, she did! *points off into the blank wall*  
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**Itachi:**** Liar.**

**Writer:**** Hey, if you already knew, why did you ask? That was mean!**

**Itachi:**** ….Who do you think you're talking to?**

**Writer:**** An emo bitch?**

**Itachi:**** Die. *conjures black fire. Black fire chases Writer around***

**Writer:**** Until next time! Unless Itachi kills me first!**


	8. Deadly

**Don't own Naruto. In case you didn't know.**

**Dear God, I'm impatient! I don't have much time to write during the week, and I spend my spare moments while I'm driving to think of this stuff, so now I just want to get to the good parts. *Sigh…..* I'll try to pace it, but I think explanations are going to be short.**

**In this one, you will see how much I don't know about the later episodes of Naruto, so sumi masen, kudasai. Suspend your disbelief for a bit.**

**Enjoy.**

Itachi's fingernails dug into the wall, blood pressure rising. Kisame frowned.

"Well?"

Itachi didn't answer, trying to meditate and force his heart to slow.

"Your taciturn behavior is working against you, Itachi." Itachi grunted in response. "So is that a no? I'm sure Rei-dono will love that." He cast a sharp sidelong glance at Kisame.

"Go without me."

Kisame's gills rippled. "And why exactly do you need to stay here so badly? Is it what has been making you leave the cave?" Itachi held Kisame's gaze, even as the shark man's lip curled in a sneer. Inside, Itachi felt a quiver of despair. "Maybe I should find your trail and find it?"

"You know better than anyone that I cover my tracks. Not even Rei will be able to find where I go." Kisame's face twisted tighter at the lack of honorific after their boss's name.

"We will find it." Kisame squinted at his partner, thinking. "I will tell Rei-dono that you will stay behind to seal the hideout and distract any shinobi who might be trying to follow us. That will give you a while." His face twitched. "You're infinitely lucky that I respect you, Itachi-san. I would throw anyone else to the wolves. Don't make me regret it." With that, Kisame swept from the room. Itachi's blood rushed in his ears.

One by one, the Akatsuki left. The headache abated slightly. Itachi felt a tear gather in his right eye and slip down. He wiped it away and looked at his fingers.

It was blood.

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Naruto stared blankly. _Wha?_ He'd never seen anything like it in his life. It was like a hospital, but not a hospital.

The floors and walls were a disturbingly bright shade of white. Everyone walked around with serious expressions, some wearing gloves and masks, some wearing scrubs, but most were wearing the same greenish coveralls, with a white tag affixed to the chest pocket.

_What does NRDF mean?_ Only the receptionist seemed even vaguely ordinary, dressed in a cardigan and blouse behind a blinding white desk. But her face was pinched and pale, and not in a good way. Naruto felt abnormally uncomfortable, dressed in such vivid colors, but also because of the surroundings. The air thrummed with a tension he had never experienced.

He shuffled up to the desk. The woman looked blearily up at him. "Um, ano…..Boku ga Uzumaki? I'm Naruto, I'm here to pick something up for the Fire Hokage?" She nodded stiffly, pressing her ear piece.

"The package for Konoha, is it ready to go?" She listened for a minute before addressing Naruto again. "They are in the process of sealing it. We will bring it up in a minute. Please wait." The boy nodded shiftily and looked around. No one was even looking up from where they were going. There were no chairs or tables, besides the desk. The lobby seemed only to be a place to enter. There were banks of elevators, and a few doors surrounding the room. When one of the doors were opened, Naruto could see that they were stairs. But everyone had to swipe a card next to the door to go in. Same with the elevators.

"Sumi masen, onna-san?" The woman looked up once again, with the same tight, yet expressionless gaze. Naruto leaned back involuntarily. "What kind of a place is this?" She went back to the papers on her desk, shuffling them and typing with one hand.

"You are not authorized for that information. Your Hokage specifically asked that you not know the details, as to protect your life."

"My life?"

She stared at him once more, with a look so serious, it felt as thought he couldn't breathe. "What you will be carrying is much desired by unscrupulous people all over this world of ours. We only handle it here, and it's the only place you can find it. Your cargo is the first we've released in almost a decade, and we are only doing it because Tsunade-sama was a great help to us." Her eyes further bored into Naruto's. "It has the potential to destroy, but your Hokage thinks she may have a new use for it, based on an accident she saw in our early days" The woman looked down. "I've already said too much. Do not ask me again." The depth of her tone instantly quelled all the questions in Naruto's head. Tsunade could be overly serious sometimes, but this time, she wasn't kidding. Naruto's insides writhed to leave the building.

An elevator opened, and a man appeared, wearing gloves, gently cupping a box the size of Naruto's fist. Seals were stamped on the sides, and a paper label surrounding the box indicated that it was not to be opened. The man approached the desk and nodded at the woman, who placed a paper and pen in front of Naruto.

"Sign. This means you picked up the package, and we are no longer responsible for it." Hesitantly, Naruto spelled out his name. As soon as he put down the pen, the paper was taken and the box held out to him.

"It's heavy," the man said gruffly. "Don't drop it." Naruto nodded, eyes fixed on the box. _Can't be that heavy. It's so small…._ The man gingerly handed him the object. As soon as the man's fingers released it, Naruto realized the man was right. The cube slipped from his hands.

The whole lobby stopped, staring with mouths open. Naruto fumbled with the dropping package for a minute, before catching it a few inches from the floor. He looked up embarrassedly.

The crowd let out its breath, and the room resumed motion as if nothing had happened. Naruto sighed, giving the man a shaky smile. The man frowned. Hurriedly, Naruto stuffed the surprisingly weighty cube into his inner pocket and ran like crazy out the door.

Even well on his way back, Naruto could still feel his insides squirming uncomfortably. Whatever was in that box, it was trying to get out.

Naruto had no doubt in his head now.

Whatever was in there, it was deadly.

O*O*O*O*O*O*

"Get out of here."

"What? No, there's work piled up from me being in the hospital!"

"Out!" Tsunade pointed sternly to the door. "You're of no use to me like this!"

Sakura looked down at the papers scattered around her. "Like what?" she asked innocently, ignoring the obvious.

"You do realize you handed me the same paper EIGHT TIMES NOW?" Sakura looked away blushing. The fainting spell had made her dizzy and disoriented, but it was the news she was recovering from. She had tried to focus so she could finish all the filing she had missed after her time convalescing, but it was like trying to gather confetti in a tornado. "Go home! I'm too busy to sort you out right now!"

Hanging her head in shame, Sakura picked up her bag without zipping it up. The heavy books inside tipped out, scattering more papers on the floor.

"OUT NOW!" She scooped up the books and ran. She didn't stop until she was at her apartment.

_Why do I always get home when it's dark?_ Sakura controlled the chill threatening at her back. _You baka, since when are you afraid of the dark? Buck up!_

She fought herself all the way up the stairs, her rational self telling her to go up and clean the evidence from her home, but a smaller voice screaming in her ear that she should go back to the Hokage's office and stay there until she found a new apartment. At the top of the stairs, she beat her forehead into the wall.

_Go inside, go inside, go inside!_

_NO run! You can't go in there!_

_Shut up you! There's nothing to be afraid of!_ She took out her keys with trembling fingers. _Hey! None of that! _She fumbled with the key, finally slipping the correct one into the lock. _You pussy! Who do you think you are, your mother?_ With that final push, her arm twisted and the door shot open.

"Good evening, Sakura-chan."

_Told you._

**Yup, I rushed it. But I've been thinking about this part for weeks! Warning: people with weak stomachs should skip the next chapter.**

**Please review!**


	9. Just a Breath

**Wait, do I own Naruto? Nope, I just imagined it. Damn LSD!**

**Let's get on, shall we? Muahaha... skip this if you can't stand violence and sex together. It's going to get very nasty. VERY. You have been warned.**

"Good evening, Sakura-chan." Itachi's blood red eyes seemed to swirl.

Sakura froze on the spot. Itachi knew he had her. Like an idiot, she had looked straight into his eyes the second she had opened the door.

"Come inside." Itachi stepped back, allowing for Sakura to move mechanically past the threshold. "Put down the bag." Against her will, Sakura's fingers went slack, letting the heavy bag to slam into the floor. He pushed the door closed with a casual _Let's get this over with._

Itachi grabbed Sakura by the chin, pulling her face close. Her hands involuntarily grasped his wrist, but Itachi let it slide. As long as she didn't pull away. He knew it hurt. He wanted it to. "Seems I might have given you the wrong impression about me, Sakura-chan." Itachi used the delicate, dangerous voice he used with Sasuke. It was a snake speaking to its prey. "Am I a really a good guy?" Her eyes flashed with anger. This wasn't good enough.

He snatched her wrists, slamming her into the wall. She made a desperate noise of pain, but her eyes were defiant. "I'll soon have that rebellion out of you, little girl. What are you, about 16?" She snarled. "Still a virgin?" Her eyes widened, mouth open. The color vanished from her face. "Shame, such a beautiful flower..." Itachi leaned in, his breath dancing over her cheek. "But that means I can have it, now doesn't it?" The fight returned, her struggling wildly, letting out a scream. Itachi tutted. "No one can hear you, little flower. But keep doing that. I like a little fight."

O*O*O*O*O*

Before she could say anything back, he slammed a kiss into her mouth. His tongue quickly parted her lips and forced her mouth open with ease. She felt intruded upon, and fought wildly against him, but Itachi was far too strong.

He dragged her from the living room to the kitchen, throwing her against the table. Her back made contact with the edge of the wood, and she crumpled in a heap. As soon as she looked back up, Itachi was above her, grabbing her hair, lifting her up to her knees. She grasped desperately at his hand to take the pressure off, but he had knocked the wind out of her. She had her eyes tightly shut against the pain shooting up and down her spine.

"Scream for me." His voice was smooth and deeply sensual, adding to the perversity of the situation. She clenched her jaw. "Scream." A hand siezed her breast, crushing it tightly. _Don't scream!_ "If you want it that way." He struck the base of her throat, shocking her windpipe. Reflexively, she opened her mouth to gasp for air, when something was shoved in her mouth, making her gag.

"That's a good girl." Sakura tried not to think about what he was doing, what he had just forced into her mouth. She wanted to bite it, to teach him not to do that, but he had pulled out. She had barely recovered her breath before he plowed in again, this time harder. He was so big, her jaw was forced all the way open. Ignoring her gagging, he slowly pushed her head down, inching himself further and further down her throat. As her lips touched the base, she felt her stomach clench.

He swiftly pulled out and she vomited. She heard his soft laughter ringing in her ears as bile dripped from her mouth. Again, her head was wrenched by his grip on her hair, this time unrelenting until she stood, looking into his cold, heartless eyes.

He pushed her onto the table, knocking the wind out of her again. Before she could think, one hand tightened around her throat, the other ripping her clothes from her body. She could only weakly claw at the hand around her throat. _No, please, don't!_ Sakura felt tears roll down her face. Her pleading eyes met Itachi's cruel ones as she felt his hardness brush her entrance. "Please..." Her voice became more desperate as she realized she was completely dry from fear.

Itachi's face had a crazy smile, triumph written all over it. "Your begging won't help, Sakura. You're mine." She felt a searing pain before everything went black.

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Itachi watched her eyes go blank. He could see the fear in her face. He swallowed, willing himself to keep the genjitsu going, no matter what pain it was causing him. In his mind's eye, he could see everything that was happening to her psyche.

He hated himself for doing this, but it was the only way. By convincing her that he was evil. She would know when the jitsu broke that what had happened wasn't real, but it should be enough to convince her that he was the enemy, to be hunted and destroyed. She needed to be on Sasuke's side, not trying to protect Itachi. It would save her the pain when his disease became apparent.

His blood pressure rose as the genjitsu got more and more violent, subjecting Sakura to endless torture. His heart raced. Respiration rapid.

"Please..." A desperately weak plea slipped from her lips. It was Itachi's undoing.

He gasped. He felt the gurgle deep in his lungs. Warm blood trickled from his nose and eyes, making them sting. The blood poured from his nose, a salty red waterfall. He tasted the iron in his mouth as his gums bled. Within seconds, he released the genjitsu, and fell on the floor, coughing it, vomiting it, breathing blood. Itachi let out a pathetic sob. _It ends here..._

O*O*O*O*O*

Sakura shook her head, dispelling the terror. _That was a genjitsu?_ The ninja on the floor quickly caught her attention. She went cold. There was blood everywhere. _What the-?_

She heard a noise from Itachi, so odd, it took a minute to sink in. _Is he...crying?_

"Sakura...forgive me..." The words were weak, muffled from fluid, but his voice...it was the pure tone of anguish she had heard the night before. "I...I deserve this..." This was the Itachi Sakura had seen before. In an instant, she made up her mind.

"Lay on your side!" Sakura pulled him down to the floor on his left side, unbuttoning his cloak, loosening his collar. "Stay there! Try to breathe!" She ran to her bedroom, ripping apart her closet until she found her med kit. Racing back to Itachi's side, she landed in the puddle of rancid blood, pulling out a syringe and vial, ignoring the sticky fluid staining her clothes. She rolled up Itachi's sleeve and pulled a dose from the vial with the needle. "Damn it." His blood pressure was so low, she couldn't see the vein. She slapped his arm sharply. Nothing.

"Fuck!" She grabbed the sleeve she had pulled up, twisting it around her fingers until it was tight. The vein throbbed. Without hesitation, Sakura slipped the needle in and injected.

At long last, Itachi took a deep breath. No foam appeared. Sakura sighed in relief. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and looked at her, his eyes black, not red. She looked back, a small smile curving her lips. She gently wiped the blood from his face with her hand. Itachi opened his mouth, as if to speak.

She put a finger to his lips. "Just breathe for now, Itachi. I'll be back." She felt his eyes on her as she collected supplies from the bathroom. "Can you sit up?" Itachi struggled, so she lifted him with one arm. With the other hand, she took a damp towel and wiped his face and neck. She helped him out of the robe, then half carried, half dragged his weak body to the couch, where she settled him, a pillow under his head. His eyes never left her face.

Sakura sat on the floor next to the couch, looking at him with curious eyes. _Why did he do that?_ Itachi lifted one hand from his side, his fingers shaking and twitching with the effort, until the tips rested on her cheek.

"Sakura, please," he croaked. "Please let me explain." Seeing that she didn't stop him, he took a deep, unsteady breath. "I wanted you to hate me, so you would never see me again, not without trying to kill me. You deserve better than a criminal." She watched him swallow thickly. "No matter what, I wanted to spare you seeing me die, and wishing I wasn't. I will die, Sakura, and soon. This disease..." His eyes were swimming. Sakura stopped him.

"Just breathe, Itachi. That's all I want. Keep breathing."

"But-"

"Itachi, you're here, and that's all that matters. Just breathe for me." She leaned into his hand. "Breathe." Nudging his hand aside, she curled up next to him, back to his chest, where she could feel his heart beating. She pulled his hand over her waist, hand resting over her stomach.

Her hair rustled as Itachi sighed, smelling her hair.

_For you, Sakura, I will breathe._

**Wow, I just read that. HOT. Review please!**


	10. Itachi's Heart

**Don't own Naruto, get it? Got it? Good.**

It was still dark when Sakura opened her eyes. She stretched. Suddenly, she realized Itachi wasn't there behind her. She sat up sharply, looking around.

Itachi looked up. Sakura blinked stupidly. He was crouched on the floor, picking up the glass and putting it in the small trash can from the bathroom. "Are you alright, Sakura?" She nodded blankly. He stood, brushing his hands over the trash can, then moving to where she was. He grasped her hands, gently lifting her arms until she stood with them. He guided her hands over his shoulders, then wrapped his fingers around the curve of her waist.

She looked up at him with wide open eyes, lips parted slightly. Itachi cocked his head, observing her face. Then, slowly, he leaned down, until their noses were just brushing against each other. Sakura's eyes were following his descent, eyelids lowering, lips opening further. He could feel her breath on his lips, warming them. He took a breath in, inhaling her scent.

"Sakura..." he murmured, enjoying the feel of her name. Her breathing shortened, and her eyes flicked back up to look into his eyes. He couldn't get enough of her beauty, the way she looked up at him so openly.

With that, he lowered the last inch between them, and kissed her. She took a sharp breath inward, then made a small noise of pleasure into his mouth. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and let the other arm slide up her back to rest between her shoulder blades. He pressed into her, intoxicated with the feel of her soft skin, her body pliant underneath his touch. When she opened her mouth to let her tongue swipe his, he felt as though someone had dipped him in a moonlit pool. His body thrummed with the feeling, the glowing, warming feeling. Only she could make him feel this way.

Sakura pulled away. He looked at her, unsure of what to think. She bit a kiss-swollen lip. "Itachi?" He smiled gently in response. Removing the hand from her back, he put the fingers to her face, thumb brushing the arch of her cheek bone, the rest wrapping around the top of her neck. "Why did you stay?" He smiled a little wider.

"Because you are the best reason to do anything." His words from the heart. Her eyes collected with tears. "Sakura, don't cry. Please. I've done enough to you to make you cry."

She laughed a little, more tears squeezing out. "No, no, it's not that." Her hands cupped his face. "You're just the only one that would stay for me. Isn't it dangerous for you here?"

"People do stupid foolish things for love." Sakura's tearful eyes stared at him in shock of what he had said. But Itachi didn't care. He was sick of hiding his love, of making hate be his affection. Once again, he had done terrible things with the intention of saving someone he loved, but again, she had accepted this, and loved him back. She pulled him in to kiss him, part laughing, part crying.

He held her tight against his chest, pouring everything he couldn't say into her. She returned in kind, flooding his senses with her.

The darkness still vibrated in the back of his mind, reminding him that he would die soon, and leave her alone, but he rebuffed it.

_As long as I'm here, Sakura, I am here for you. Even when I pass on, I will watch over you. As long as I breathe. As long as I exist. As long as the universe is here._

_I love you, Sakura._

O*O*O*O*O*O*

"FUCK!" Sasuke slammed his hand into the wall, crushing the brick, sending a cloud of dust into the room. Kabuto stared blankly, while Orochimaru's scowl deepened. Sasuke pulled his fist from the rubble, shaking with anger.

"No use doing that. You'll break your arm."

"So what? You're a medic, you can fix it!" Sasuke snapped, cracking his shoulder back into place. This would have been difficult for anyone else, but Sasuke wasn't exactly "normal," not when it came to pain, anyway. Kabuto sighed, pushing up his glasses.

"Calm yourself, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke spun on Orochimaru. He seemed to be thinking of what to say. After a pregnant silence, Sasuke took a deep breath, and backed down, staring angrily at the wall. "We will find him, if that is what you desire." A sick smile spread on Orochimaru's face as he thought of the future. Once Sasuke had killed his brother, Orochimaru was free to take his Sasuke's body. He squirmed in pleasure. Sasuke didn't miss it.

"You know the agreement, Orochimaru."

"Yes, I do." Orochimaru looked to Kabuto. "Find him. The Akatsuki must know where he has gone. Don't come back until you succeed." Kabuto nodded sharply and strolled out, as easy as you please. He did this when he was thinking. Orochimaru let his gaze crawl up and down Sasuke's body. _Mine._

**Yeah, it's short, but whatever. Filler, if you will.**


	11. Until Dawn Breaks

**Own Naruto? Eh, no.**

**Thanks to OTURAN_IKAMUZU1, MorganEF, kisukebenihime, Reina Reina, and most especially, my bad ass writer-friend from Down Under, Mischa Rowe! Thanks so much for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this new installment. Your reviews have been very helpful and encouraging!**

**Let's do this!**

_I love you, Sakura._

Itachi tangled his fingers into Sakura's pink hair, relishing its slick, yet resistant qualities. She leaned further into him, trying to get closer. Itachi stumbled, falling back on the couch, the tumble halted by the seatback. Sakura found herself stretched in an uncomfortable position.

She broke the kiss, tilting her head so their foreheads were touching, looking into his eyes as she straddled him. Itachi let his hands slide over her body, around her shoulders, tracing the groove in her back, gliding over her waist and hips. The gaze between them was steady, strong, and warm. Sakura's lips parted, letting a breath trickle over Itachi's nose.

A conversation seemed to pass between them, one spelled with glances and breaths. A sense of wonder filled the air around them, an aura of desire, a moment of perfection.

Itachi couldn't resist her one second longer. She deserved to know every inch of the joy and contentment that she had suddenly brought to his life. He quickly pulled her in, crash landing a kiss, but it wasn't violent. Sakura seized Itachi's hair under the hair band, causing his ponytail to loosen. Her mouth opened hungrily, her tongue twisted around Itachi's. He reciprocated, widening his lips, letting her in.

Sakura squirmed on him. Itachi's fingers curled into her back, taking a deep breath sharply in. Sakura seemed concerned she had hurt him, and she started to pull away, but Itachi pulled her back in with a rough breath, somewhere between a gasp and a groan. In response, Sakura deliberately rotated her hips down on him. Itachi moaned into her mouth, reaching down to give her ass a gentle squeeze.

Her back rippled as he did so. Itachi smiled into the kiss, taking this as the go-ahead. He wormed a hand around her waist, slipping his fingers under the hem, and sliding past the bottom of the bra to swipe over a taut nipple.

Sakura threw her head back, breaking the kiss to utter a soft cry of pleasure. Her neck was stretched out in front of him, within his reach. He brushed his nose up and down her windpipe, before letting his lips land there. His lips softly smoothed around her neck as his fingernail rounded the areola of her breast. The noises issuing from her mouth were constant now, mewling and moaning in a low voice. Itachi let his tongue roll up the long tendon connecting her neck to her shoulder.

Grabbing his face again, Sakura brought his lips up to hers in a fierce, desperate kiss. Itachi didn't stop his ministrations, opting to switch to the other side. Her groans were into his mouth now, more intense, her lips and tongue vibrating with the sound. She slid her cheek beside his, breathing the sounds into his ear, pausing only to delicately lick the rim of his ear.

Itachi couldn't catch his breath. The whole experience, the reality of having this beautiful woman- for he now considered her a woman, in no way was she a child- all over him, desperate for him, wanting every bit of him, even the parts that he detested. He was in amazement, and he could feel it from her too. There was a completeness to the little time they had spent together. It had been less than a week, but Itachi couldn't remember what it was like before her, how he had lived without smelling her hair, touching her face, hearing her say his name, the way she was saying now.

"Itachi….." He pulled back to look at her again. Her cheeks were flushed, lips moist and full, eyes heavy lidded. Sakura smiled at him, just a little curve of her lips, but it was enough to make his face flush. His eyes opened wide in shock. Sakura giggled a little. "You're blushing, Itachi." That laugh…..it didn't make him feel ashamed or embarrassed. His skin turned a deeper shade of red, but he didn't care. If it made Sakura smile… He reached up, kissing her again.

Suddenly he pulled back. There was a red smear on Sakura's confused face. Her eyes shot open in surprise. "Oh God, wait here. Do this." She disengaged his hands from her shirt, making his left hand pinch the base of his nose. Getting up, she made him lean forward. Blood dripped from his nose to the freshly cleaned floor. Itachi closed his eyes in frustration.

_Damn it! Not again!_

Within seconds, Sakura was back with another towel, as well as her med kit again. She went through the routine of taking out the syringe, the vial, but she was more careful this time around.

She lifted Itachi's right arm up on her shoulder as she crouched in front of him, swabbing the inside of his elbow with an alcohol wipe. Itachi could see the vein clearly as she filled the syringe. He made an attempt to speak. "What-"

"You're going to breathe blood if you speak," she said around the needle cap in her teeth.

"Factor?" he managed to get out around the sticky blood.

Sakura shook her head, sliding the needle smoothly in, pushing in roughly 10 ml. Soon after, he could feel the blood flow slowing. He swallowed thickly, noting that his throat felt dry and scratchy. Capping the used syringe, Sakura pulled the towel away, tilting his head up to look for further hemorrhage, then gently wiping the not yet coagulated blood from his nose. "No, factor is very sensitive to time. That was calcium chloride. It helps blood cells stick together, but I've given you quite a lot in such a short period. You need fluid." She took the towel to clean the blood from the floor, but Itachi stopped her by grabbing her wrist. She looked up.

"I'll do it. I didn't lose that much blood this time." She didn't move. "Sakura, please, I'm the one who intruded on your home. I should be the one to clean up the mess." She still looked skeptical. "Please." He said it softly, barely above a whisper. Reluctantly, she sighed and stood.

"I'll make you something to drink. Any preference?" She wandered into the kitchen as Itachi went to wet the towel.

"You're the medic," Itachi called from the bathroom. "What should I drink?"

"I think I've got some here….." He heard her rustling about in the other room as he started to mop the floor with the damp towel.

He took his time, rubbing every last trace of the blood out of the floorboards. Itachi was nothing if not a perfectionist. He was upset at having started bleeding again in her presence, especially at such a moment. Internally, Itachi swore roundly. _The moment was so damn perfect! If not for me, why did the fates curse this woman with frustration and dissatisfaction?_ He coughed, becoming more aware of his parched throat with each furious scrub.

"Damn cups!" Itachi heard china clinking. He stood, tossing the towel over to where the trash can still sat, along with the last of the shattered mirror. Sakura was standing on her toes, one leg thrown up on the counter, knee inches from a still hot stove, stretching to reach a set of porcelain cups in a tall cupboard. The mugs were just within reach of her fingertips, rattling as she desperately tried to grab them. They were poised to fall out and break at any second.

Itachi came up behind her, wrapping a strong arm around her stomach to support her as his other hand pulled her thigh off the counter. "You'll burn yourself that way." Sakura froze up against him, letting him move her limbs like a Dresden doll. He released his hold to glide his hands up her arms, past her fingers, to grab the handleless ceramic. Her arms bent with his, her fingertips trapped between the cups and his palms as he placed the mugs on the counter.

He nuzzled his nose into her hair. Though his sense of smell was impaired from the recent bleeding, her scent still wafted to him, making his head spin in the best way possible. She used a slightly fruity scented shampoo, maybe a little floral too, but what he really loved was the scent underneath, her natural perfume. She was almost buttery smelling, warm and sensual. Itachi brought his hands back up her arms to her shoulders, smoothing his palms down her waist. Nudging her hair aside, he put his mouth on the side of her neck, lavishing the soft skin with a slow kiss.

She held her breath as his left hand reached up to hold her against him near the solar plexus. The right one moved, as if it had a mind of its own, down her front to the ligament that connected her hips to her thigh, letting his fingers trickle down to the apex.

"TCH tch tch!" Sakura suddenly made noises though her teeth as if she had been doused with ice water. She pushed his hands off her body and spun around quickly, startling him. Itachi stood with his hands out where she had flung them, blinking blankly. "We can't get your blood pressure up so quickly again, that's probably what is causing this." His hands dropped and he nodded. She was right.

She took a deep breath and turned around again to grab the cups, worming around him to a teapot steaming on a trivet on the table, along with a bottle of milk. She poured a little milk into each cup, followed by black tea from the pot. The comforting smell filled the room. Itachi was beckoned to the table, where Sakura placed a hot cup in his hands and gestured for him to sit. Sakura blew delicately on her tea. Itachi took a sip, and froze.

"Itachi? Is there something wrong?" She leaned towards him anxiously. "It's not that bad is it? I had to use decaffeinated so you wouldn't get more dehydrated, I know it's not as good as the regular stuff, I-"

Itachi stopped her with a wistful look. "It's sweet."

"Yes?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, unsure.

"My mother used to make me sweet tea." He gazed back down into the swirling milky liquid. "Both me and Sasuke…." The room went completely silent at the mention of the youngest Uchiha. Several minutes passed. "He used to love sweet things." Itachi's eyes softened with tears. "Maybe he will again….."

As if on cue, the sky brightened, the glow of the new day making an overture. They both looked outside as shafts of lemon yellow cut across the sky, setting the clouds on fire. Orange danced around their fluffy rims, slicing through the blue and purple of another clear night in Konoha, opening a day with many changes. Just a sliver of the rising sun was visible before dark clouds covered it.

Sakura sighed. "I can't believe it's morning." Itachi set down his cup, standing. Sakura's eyes followed him suspiciously. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I have to leave. You said it yourself, it's dangerous here."

"OH NO you don't!" Sakura slammed down her mug, sending tea sloshing over the rim. Itachi looked back at her. Somehow, the sun had brought back his stoic face. He couldn't find it in himself to look anything except blank. She stomped to him, fury on her face again. It was different this time though, her fury was not hatred, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what she was feeling. "You're going to go back out there and run around and GOD KNOWS WHAT and THEN you are going to bleed out a few pints you can't spare, and no one will be there to help you! BAKA!" Sakura was in is face once again. "You got a choice, asshole. You can stay here for the day until your blood count is back up, or I will DRAG your ass to Tsunade-sama and YOU can explain why you couldn't take A FEW DAMN MINUTES to recover!" She was seething. He knew she wouldn't be able to drag him to the Hokage, she wasn't strong enough to defeat him, but suddenly, he knew why she was so mad.

"If that is what you wish, Sakura, then that is what I will do." He picked his tea back up and sat complacently, sipping it as if he was at an ocha ceremony. Sakura blinked, frowning.

"Just like that?" Itachi nodded shortly, closing his eyes to take a small swallow of the warm tea. She was right again. The milky tea was fortifying him, soothing his throat and replacing the warmth he had lost. "I was expecting more of an argument…." she said sheepishly, pulling on the back of her mussed hair.

Itachi paused to look at her seriously again. "You are my doctor. I will do as you say for my health."

"Oh…" There was a slight note of disappointment in her voice that Itachi didn't miss.

"And I need my health so I can repay you."

"What?" She looked up, eyebrow quirked. "Repay?"

Another sip was taken with closed eyes. "You have saved my life twice now." He set down the tea and looked deep into her sea foam eyes. "So my life is now dedicated to you. If you wish it, I shall do it." Itachi watched her smile and blush with pleasure. It made him feel so good to make her happy. She approached him, then leaned down and placed a small kiss on his forehead.

"Thank you, Itachi," she whispered into his forehead, rustling his forelock. "Now, I have to go to work early. Your little stunt when you broke into my home messed up my filing." Itachi snorted a little. "I will shower, make some food, then I'm off."

Itachi's eyebrow arched up. _Shower?_

**There you go! Stretching it out a little bit more now, doing a little development. Hope you like, and please review!**


	12. All Wet

**I don't own Naruto, yeah, whatever. Did anyone actually think I did?**

Itachi's eyebrow arched up. _Shower?_

He stood as she turned to leave the kitchen, following her blindly to the bathroom. As Sakura turned to push the door closed, she saw Itachi and jumped.

"What the-? Something you need?" She rubbed her chest. "Stop sneaking up on me, you're going to send me into cardiac arrest." Itachi swallowed the snide comment about how she ever expected to be a ninja if she was that easily startled. She stopped and looked at him with a slightly amused, slightly annoyed face. "Interested in watching me shower? Pervert." She shut the door on him. He had to dodge back a little to avoid hitting his nose. Truthfully, he didn't want to watch her shower. His primitive brain urged him to jump in that shower with her.

Itachi shivered at the idea of getting Sakura naked and wet. As he heard the shower spray beat into the tiles, he imagined guiltily what it would be like. In his mind's eye, he saw her step into the water, sighing as the hot spray flowed over her smooth skin. Her hands would drag down her breasts, over her belly, around her hips, sliding over her thighs. Through her wet hair, she'd look up at him, smiling, before letting a hand wander slowly, teasingly to the crease of her hip, where his fingers had been only minutes before. As she reached her core, she would close her eyes and moan, using her other hand to rub a pert breast.

He shook it off as quickly as he could. He could feel his erection growing as the fantasy played out. _Stop right now. You can't start bleeding again._ Taking a deep breath, he walked back to the kitchen, repeatedly shoving the sexual thoughts away. His hands shook as he picked up the tea. He was so wound up, having gotten so close to something twice. Itachi forced himself to let it go, telling himself that it was too soon, he couldn't risk having another hemorrhage, and besides, he could tell that she was a virgin. The amount of fear in her at the prospect of being raped, even in her mind, told him that she didn't have any experience, and he shouldn't try anything.

To calm himself, he meditated as he sipped the tea, taking long slow breaths, until the shower turned off. The urge to go to her and take her became strong again. Itachi slapped himself internally, and grit his teeth, trying to make the feeling go away. _Crush it, Uchiha. Just let her do the morning routine, let her walk out._

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Sakura felt his eyes on her as she came out of the bathroom. She kept her head down as she got out eggs and bread to make eggs-in-a-basket, trying not to look at him. _Down, girl, down. He's hot and everything, but don't think about jumping his bones-DAMN IT!_

_Oh go ahead, he wouldn't stop you._

_He'll start bleeding again! And I only just met him!_

_So? He's hot. And you were so thinking about him in the shower._

_I WAS NOT._

_Oh really? Then what made your fingers-_

_SHUT UP. _Sakura argued with herself all through cooking, right down to putting the eggs and toast in front of Itachi.

She chanced a look at him. His eyes gazed right back at her, with that same look of desire he had earlier.

_Oh fuck it._

Without thinking, she grabbed his collar, pulling him in for a kiss. He moaned into her mouth. She dragged him to his feet, pulling him up to her, backing into a wall. Automatically, his hands slammed into the wall beside her, preventing him from falling into her. She didn't care, winding an arm around his waist, the other snaking up to hook his neck.

Sakura felt a throbbing between her legs. The desire to have something between her thighs, to have someone touch her there was overwhelming. She seized Itachi's hand, pulling it down roughly to where he was before she had stopped him. He broke the kiss, looking at her with those sensual eyes. She bit her lip, tugging his wrist insistently downward.

With a little smile of satisfaction, he leaned down to place his lips on the side of her neck, holding her head in place with one hand, while the other lightly brushed between her legs. Sakura instantly let out a loud moan, her back arching. As his tongue made a swipe at her skin, his fingers made a similar move, front to back. She clung to his back. Her fingernails dug into the skin exposed over the collar of his shirt, surely leaving a mark.

His touches were light, moving in time with the motions of his lips and tongue. With only a second of hesitation, he bit her neck gently, as he gave her clit a soft pinch. She responded with a cry of pleasure, muffling it by biting the junction of his shoulder and neck.

With this, he brought his mouth back to hers, kissing her deeply. Sakura made a mewl of protest as she felt his hand leave, but she gasped the noise back in as his hand smoothly ducked around her waist band and down to her sex. His fingers quickly became slippery with her juices, sliding exquisitely around her folds, making her squirm with sensations.

Sakura broke the kiss to pant. When she opened her eyes, she saw Itachi with a similar look to his face, his breath heavy, lips parted. "Is this all for me, Sakura?" She nodded, moaning as a few fingers parted her. A digit circled her entrance, and she cried out.

"Please, more," she begged.

"If you wish." One finger entered her. She saw Itachi catch a short breath as her inner muscles rippled around his finger. He was torturously slow, not just going in and out, but circling around, pressing the front wall of her sex in a way that made her plead for more. Again, Itachi obliged, adding another finger. An unfamiliar, but deeply pleasurable ball of tension grew in her abdomen as he slowly slid in and out of her. "Come for me, Sakura."

Her eyes shot open as such an open, and dirty, declaration, but a sharp thrust into her dipped her back into her erotic haze. "I want you to scream for me. I want to hear how much pleasure you are in." Itachi placed a thumb on her clit. "Come for me." All it took was a firm swirl, and that was it.

Sakura didn't hold back. As ripples shot through her body, she threw her head back and screamed wordlessly. Wave after wave crashed over her as Itachi pressed harder into her, forcing more pleasure out of her. She heard herself say his name over and over, the practice seeming to make the experience even better.

As she came down, she looked back at him. Itachi was breathing as hard as her, fingers still inside. Sakura kissed him softly in between pants, not wanting to ever let this feeling stop. But, sadly, Itachi pulled his hand away. Sakura let out a little groan, half of pleasure, half of protest.

She clapped a hand over her mouth as she spotted Itachi's hand. It was soaked almost down to the wrist. Itachi smiled wryly.

"You might want to take another shower after that, Sakura-chan." She slapped his chest slightly, then ran off to the bathroom once more, hearing his chuckles all the way back.

**GAH! I'm such a pervert. Review please! Next chapter will actually be continuing with the story. I promise. Sort of.**


	13. We All Have Our Secrets

**I. DON'T. OWN. NARUTO.**

The door had closed behind her. Itachi was suddenly very aware of how alone he was at this point.

He turned, his gaze raking the room. There was still the last of the glass to pick up. He thought about cleaning it up for a second, going as far as to stand over the last shards.

A glint caught his eye. He looked up sharply. It was just a picture on the mantel of the fireplace. He reached out to move it, erasing the glare from the dim light of the sun through the clouds. It was a picture of her old team, her, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi. He smiled at the evil looks his little brother and his blond friend were giving each other. Sakura seemed oblivious to their rivalry in this photograph. Kakashi was smiling, as best you can smile though a mask, with one eye covered.

Itachi's smile waned as he stared at the silver-haired shinobi. Did anyone actually know what was behind that mask? Was there anyone still alive who remembered what his smile was really like?

Unexpectedly, Itachi found himself thinking about the days in ANBU. He was the youngest, but the most respected. Kakashi was there too. He frowned. Last time they had met, Hakate was no match for him anymore, and hated him. Did he know? Itachi wondered if it was a façade, this anger. Surely he had to know. Hakate was the last person he talked to before… These thoughts troubled Itachi deeply, for reasons he couldn't understand.

_Kakashi…you could see it in my eyes that night. Why didn't you stop me? Why did you….._ Again with these endless questions. ANBU weren't ever supposed to know who the others were. But as soon as Itachi joined the ANBU, Kakashi had plucked him out right away, no doubt with the Sharingan eye that Rin had bequeathed to him. Itachi wondered if Hakate had figured out what else his Uchiha eye could do. Itachi hadn't told him.

_Hakate. You knew what it was like. You knew that I would have to be the one. Do you hate me for this? Weren't you the one who always put the success of the mission over casualties? _Itachi traced a finger over the hitai-ite covering Kakashi's replaced eye. _Does anyone really know what I know about you?_ Itachi remembered, and he withdrew his hand sharply, as if burned.

He caught his reflection in the glass. By comparison of the sunny day with such an optimistic air, he looked haggard, eyes rimmed in red, dark circles around his eyes, hair messy and over grown. He turned from the photograph, heading for the bathroom. After a minute of rifling through the drawers, he came back to the shattered mirror, kneeling down.

_Click._

One dark lock of hair fell. Itachi sighed deeply, opening the scissors again.

_Click._

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Sakura looked over her shoulder, left right left. She swiveled her head around, checking around. No one there.

"WHEEEEE!" she squealed, throwing her hands up in the air and pirouetting on her toes. She was riding high, despite everything else going on. She surmised it was what everyone called an "afterglow." With that out of her system, she corrected her bag on her shoulders, heading off to the center of town.

"Hello! Hello, everybody!" She waved exuberantly at everyone, even people she didn't know. "Lovely day!" Some people waved back, often with strange looks on their faces. The sky was gray and cloudy, sure to rain. Sakura spotted the Yamanaka Flower Shop and burst in. "Hi, Ino-pig!"

Ino looked up from her magazine with suspicious eyes. "Billboard brow." Today, Sakura didn't care. She plucked up a daffodil and smelled it.

"Are these freshly cut? They smell so good!"

Ino's eyes narrowed even further. "Alright, what happened?"

"What are you talking about? Nothing happened," Sakura lied.

"You suck at lying, forehead girl."

"Or you suck at telling what's the truth, piggy." Sakura turned with the flower held up to her face sweetly. She remembered what had happened that morning, and blushed.

Ino shot up from her chair, slamming the magazine down on the counter and pointing accusingly at Sakura. "HA! I knew it!" Ino smiled smugly. "I knew you looked like you just had sex. So who popped your cherry? Please tell me it wasn't Rock Lee."

Sakura turned a deeper shade of red. "W-WHAT? N-No! I-wha-sex-not- EW NEVER WITH ROCK LEE!"

Ino pretended to wipe sweat from her brow. "Whew, thank God for small mercies. I probably would have had to kill you. So," she leaned on her elbows, looking excitedly at Sakura, who was still sputtering furiously. "Who was it? I want all the nasty details!"

"I HAVE NOT HAD SEX!" Sakura shouted so loud, people on the street turned to look at her. Ino giggled.

"Then why are you glowing?"

"I-I-I had a good breakfast!" Sakura said lamely. Ino snickered, two pink circles appearing on her cheeks.

"I bet he was."

"INO!"

"Oh come on, who was it, I'm dying to know! My money's on Neji."

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, INO!"

"No?" Ino thought. "Why wouldn't you want to tell me? Ah!" She snapped her fingers, a light bulb going on over her head. "It was one of mine, and you think I'll be jealous!" Ino laughed, waving her hand around. "Please, Sakura, I wasn't dating any of them! So, of my boys…..Kiba?"

Sakura sputtered louder.

"No? Then maybe Sai?"

"After he called me ugly?" Sakura shouted indignantly.

"He didn't know any better." Ino shrugged.

"Easy for you to say! He always called you pretty!"

Ino stuck her tongue out. "He was just being observant. Gaara was here the other day, did he come to see you?"

"You slept with the Kazekage?"

Ino shrugged again, as if it was no big deal. "What? He's kinda cute. Not much of a talker. He uses his mouth for other things."

"YOU PERVERT!"

"Am not! Oh wait, I got it!" Ino stood up triumphantly. "Iruka!"

"SAY WHAT? YOU GOT IN BED WITH IRUKA?"

Ino nodded, smiling. "He's pretty damn good too. Did he do this thing where he makes you lay down, and he takes your legs, and while he's going at it, he-"

"NOT IRUKA!" Sakura stopped her short. Ino pouted.

"Then who?"

"I DIDN'T HAVE SEX, INO!" She looked at Sakura suspiciously again.

"Well, just because you have an afterglow, doesn't mean you necessarily had sex. Did you have a really awesome shower then?" Ino pointed at Sakura's still damp hair. Sakura's jaw hit the floor.

"Wha-but- YOU HAVE SUCH A DIRTY MIND!" Sakura threw the flower back into the bin, turning on her heels to leave.

"I'll find out eventually! You can't hide it from me!" Sakura stomped off with Ino's accusations ringing in her ears. Was it that obvious?

"Hi, Shizune-senpai." Sakura waved at Shizune, who suddenly stopped. Sakura stopped in her tracks too, wondering what the odd look was for.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan…. Are you alright?"

Sakura blinked. "What? Yes, I'm fine, why?"

Shizune's brow furrowed. "You look…..you're glowing." Sakura blushed deeply.

"Oh, ah, yeah, I just, good breakfast." Mentally, she slapped herself for giving that lame excuse again.

"Oh." Shizune didn't seem convinced, but she dropped it. "Tsunade's in her office already." She lowered her voice. "It would be prudent to keep your head down today. She's in an awful mood." Sakura nodded.

As soon as Sakura entered the room, she could see the troubled look on Tsunade's face. Tsunade looked up.

"Why do you look like you just had a good fuck?" Sakura's jaw hit the floor as Shizune giggled a little.

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama!"

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Naruto wiped the blood from his eyes, forcing himself to run faster, though his muscles burned for oxygen. He checked behind him. He didn't see anything, but Naruto knew that didn't mean much.

The box beat hard on his chest with each step. It slammed with the rapid beat of his heart, over and over, leaving deep bruises. Naruto winced. Soon, he would have no choice.

A wind attack came from his right, pushing him from the branch he had landed on. He countered with his own wind attack, softening his fall. But one of the ninja was there, reaching for his jacket. Naruto sliced the hand, but it was only a clone. He took this opportunity to run, dodging back in the direction of the Forest of Death.

As he ran, he grasped the little cube, bringing it out. He stared at the paper wrapping, the seals surrounding the edge where it was intended to be opened.

No choice.

**Here's another for you! Thank you all for your reviews, and I hope that this chapter makes you happy. Cheers!**


	14. Tsunade's Blessing

**Naruto is the property of TV Tokyo and that crazy manga dude that likes to draw toes, hence the ninja sandals, despite the fact that sandals are impractical.**

**Thank you to Dawn Destiny, TeenageCrisis, TheHeartBreaker, fuzzysoxftw, and kamiccolo's rose for your comments! Also, shout out to my faithful reviewers, MorganEF and Mischa Rowe. Thank you so much to all of you who take the time to review my stories! It means a bunch to me. MUCH LUUUURVE!**

**Here you go, lovelies. I promise, I'll have something juicy by this weekend. Can't wait!**

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama!" Shizune covered her mouth as she chuckled, trying not to let Sakura see her laugh.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Like anyone could miss that afterglow." She sighed, shuffling the papers on her desk. "Where did I put that damn- Shizune! I can't find last night's reports!" Shizune stopped laughing, handing a manila folder to Tsunade. The woman yanked out a paper.

The Hokage's brow knitted further. She looked up at the clock on the wall, then back to the report, shaking her head.

"Hokage-sama, Is there something wrong?" Sakura approached the desk, dropping her bag to lean against the weathered wood.

"Naruto picked up the package at 3:37 PM yesterday."

"He made good time," Shizune pointed out.

"Exactly. He would have been back late last night if he had turned right around."

"Perhaps he stopped for the night?" Shizune offered.

"No." Sakura began to frown with worry. "Naruto takes these missions way too seriously. He has the stamina to run far longer than twelve hours."

Tsunade considered this for a moment, then handed the folder back to her assistant. "We'll give him a few more hours. I'm not sending out a team just find that he ate too much ramen and had to bunk for the night. Sakura." She looked sternly at her fuming student. "You have a lot of work to do." Sakura sighed, nodding.

It was going to be a long day.

O*O*O*O*O*O*

"SAKURA!"

Sakura sweat dropped. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?" She poked her head from the outer office into the main one to look at her teacher. The well-bosomed blonde thrust some money in her direction.

"I need a drink."

Another sweat drop appeared on Sakura's face. "It's one in the afternoon." Tsunade glared at her. "Fine. Can I get some lunch while I'm at it?" Tsunade grunted. Sakura took this as a "yes," snatching her bag and the proffered money.

_Man, do I even have anything at the house? God, Itachi must be hungry. He needs food so he can heal. Jesus, I should have gone to lunch sooner!_

"Haruno-san." A shinobi waiting outside the Hokage's office addressed her formally.

"Ohaiyo," she said distractedly, still buried in her thoughts. Suddenly, she stopped, double-taking the ninja.

He winked as his eyes flashed red.

"Wha-but-you-" Sakura shook her head and her hackles rose angrily. "Are you insane? !" Itachi gave her that look that made her weak in the knees. "Is-is this a henge?"

He did look different. For one, he was out of his Akatsuki robes, instead garbed in a Chunnin vest. Under it was a tight black shirt, covering halfway up his throat, like a turtleneck, with three quarter sleeves. His pants were also black, rolled up to just below his knees. An intact hitei-ite hung casually from his hips like a belt, tied to the belt loops. A pair of fingerless gloves covered his hands. As Itachi swiped at his forelock, Sakura noticed the nail polish was gone.

But the hardest to miss was his hair. His bangs were no longer shaggy and overgrown, razored to fit the curve of his face, ending at his jaw. His ponytail was shorter too. Now, the tail brushed around his shoulders. "Why would I disguise myself in a henge? Last time I walked in broad daylight here, I was wearing my cloak, and still no one noticed." Sakura tilted her head from side to side, conceding. "Do you find me unattractive like this?"

Sakura shook her head vigorously, her eyes raking up and down his body. _Hot…_ A thought occurred to her. "Where did you get the clothes?"

He shrugged. "It seems my little brother left our family home completely as it was." He plucked the vest. "And I'm apparently the same size as I was back then." Sakura bit back the questions about his old home.

"And the hair?"

Itachi brushed back his bangs again. "I cut it."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yourself? You did that on your own?"

The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched upwards. "This may surprise you, Sakura, but I'm very good with hair. Who do you think taught Sasuke to style his hair like that?"

"That was you? !" He must have seen the disbelief on her face.

"I noticed he still does his hair like I showed him. That's because that's the only way his hair has any semblance of order. It sticks up in all directions." Sakura choked back a fit of laughter. "If it wasn't cut and styled like that, he would look like your blond friend, Uzumaki." The image finally cracked Sakura. She burst into hysterics, as she imagined what Sasuke's hair would look like in the morning. It occurred to her that that was the reason that Sasuke had always woken up and gotten ready before anyone had stirred from sleep. Tears of mirth rolled down her face.

"R-really? !" Through her giggles, Sakura saw Itachi make a half smile.

"Since he was an infant. Mother tried everything to make his hair behave. She grew it out, but his hair was so stiff and thick, it would still stick out. He looked like a bear." Sakura laughed harder. "She also tried cutting it so short you could see his scalp, but all that did was show all his cowlicks. He wore a hat for weeks."

She finally fell to the floor, gasping for air. Itachi crouched over her. "I know it's funny, but I never realized it was that comedic." Sakura wiped her face, still laughing in between pants. Itachi stood, offering his hand to help her up. When she grabbed his hand, Itachi gave her a firm pull, the other arm catching her around the waist to bring her in tight.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat as he released her hand to trace his finger over her cheek. His lips were just a scant inch from hers. He studied her face intently with that look again. She felt the muscles in her abdomen clench with desire. She squirmed a little as she found that though her mouth had gone dry, a familiar moistness was gathering below.

"That explains the O-glow I saw this morning." Sakura turned her head sharply, blushing deeply as she saw Tsunade with her hands on her hips.

"Tsunade-sama, let me-"

She rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "I don't give a crap. You two can make out after you get my sake. Oh, and Itachi," She headed back in her office, yelling out the last words. "Use the usual henge, there's a wanted poster of you up in town right now."

Sakura blinked, staring at Itachi whose expression was similarly shocked.

"Was that a blessing?" Sakura arched an eyebrow.

"I do believe it was." Itachi faced her again. "You're buying her alcohol?" Sakura shrugged.

"Yeah, I often do."

"And they don't realize you're not eighteen?"

"No, they just know it's for her." Sakura became painfully aware how close they still were. "Um, Itachi? I have to-"

"Yes." He let go of her, and she suppressed a groan of longing.

"And your usual disguise? What's that?" She knelt to pick up the wad of money she had dropped while laughing. As she stood, there was a poof of smoke. She waved the smoke away, coughing. When she saw him again, an eyebrow shot up. "Seriously?" The new Itachi looked at himself, then back at her with a questioning frown. "That's all? I was kind of expecting more of a change." Itachi's marks had become shorter, reducing to two indents on the sides of his nose. Both his eyes and his hair had turned a deep purple.

"Sakura, it's not necessary to change more than this. The two things people can really identify with me is the coloring of my hair and eyes, and the tear troughs." He leaned down, brushing his nose against Sakura's. "Unless you rather a different face? Am I unappealing?" His fingers came up to wander around her neck. Sakura gulped, her vision going fuzzy. The man oozed sex out of every pore, even when in disguise.

"But, uh, what am I supposed to call you?" She forced the words out. He pulled back with his sexy half smile playing around his mouth.

"You may call me Yokoi."

"Right. Yeah. Yokoi," she squeaked, turning. "Time to go."

**Please review! Until next time! Ja!**


	15. Undisclosed

**I never have, nor ever will, own Naruto. Too much f*cking work!**

**Once, I was told that if you have writer's block, remove your favorite thing and try again. Well, I tried making it longer, but I've got the block. So it's time to stop beating my head against a wall because I never want this to end.**

**Story time.**

"Konoha, you say?" Orochimaru coughed.

"Yes. He's made visits to Tsunade." Kabuto mixed tea with a powdered medicine serenely.

"So, he is on speaking terms with another Sannin." Orochimaru's dark snigger turned into a cough and a groan of pain. "Wonder how that is." Kabuto shook his head, handing the cup to his master. He made a grab for it, but the cup slipped from his weak fingers.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto put his hand on the sickly man's back, but it was whipped away with a snarl. "You need to get in your new body quickly. Soon, there will be nothing I can do."

Orochimaru wheezed out a laugh. "Soon, Kabuto. Within the day."

"I'll get you some stronger medicine." Kabuto raced out of the room.

Orochimaru kept laughing to himself, "Soon, my little Uchiha. If I could not have your brother, I will have you. Soon."

He barely had enough time to block as a bolt of lightening chakra slid effortlessly though the door and into his white flesh.

"Is that so, you pathetic snake?"

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Sakura heard Itachi chuckle a little as she strode swiftly down the hall. She was moving her legs in a strange way, stiff and bowed outwards. "Is there something wrong, Sakura-chan? You're walking a little funny." Sakura turned angrily, eyes looking out the windows and behind him. The laughter died in Itachi's throat as she suddenly grabbed the hem of her shirt and flashed him.

"What's wrong, Yokoi? Your eyes look funny." Sakura smirked as she turned back around and pulled her shirt down. As soon as she faced away, she blushed a deep red at her wanton behavior. She took a few steps to leave, but she didn't hear Itachi following her. Sakura looked back, expecting a sexy retaliation.

Itachi's Sharingan was blazing bright red, gaze off in the distance. "What? Why are you doing that?" He didn't answer, just holding up his hand for silence. His eyes roved around almost blindly, finally locking on some point.

"We need to see Tsunade, now." His voice was dark and serious. He pivoted, sweeping down the hall, a very confused Sakura in his wake. Tsunade was at her desk, signing papers. "Hokage, there's something wrong with your jinchuriki." Both women looked sharply at Itachi.

A second later, Tsunade was up, motioning for Itachi to lead. Itachi didn't hesitate, leaping out the window. Tsunade and Sakura followed. "What's happening?" Tsunade came up to his side as they jumped over rooftops. Itachi wiped a trickle of blood from his nose. He made a mental note of where Naruto was and closed his Sharingan.

"His chakra isn't right. It looks like he tapped Kyuubi, but something is quelling his ability to use it."

"Suppression jitsu?"

"No." Itachi turned the Sharingan on for a second more. "No….it's….I don't know. It's an energy field of some sort, but I've never seen anything like it."

"Son of a whore!" Tsunade cursed. "They left a crack in the damn seal! Is he under attack?"

"No. He had a massive release of chakra when I sensed him, and he appears to have fought them off, but he's still, and his chakra is fading fast. Not far now."

Beyond the walls of the village, past the cemetery, and just shy of the forest, they could see the bright orange jumpsuit. Sakura rocketed to the front, zipping towards him until she was about ten feet away. She suddenly recoiled, breathing hard. "Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade kept muttering curses under her breath. She flinched too as she approached, but did not stop. "Stay back! Naruto!" She cupped her hands around his ashen face. "Naruto!" His eyes fluttered open. "Where is it? ! Where's the box? !" For some reason, Naruto smiled a little.

"I don't have it."

"What? ! You let them take it? !" He chuckled weakly, pawing at his chest before his face twisted in pain. Tsunade's mouth dropped. "You didn't- please tell me you didn't- !" Sakura suddenly darted forward at her friend's cry of pain, unzipping his jacket and ripping his shirt. Itachi stiffened, Sakura gasped, Tsunade swore.

His chest looked like a mass of charred, bleeding meat. It appeared as though someone had ripped his flesh to ribbons, then torched the wounds. Sakura clapped her hands over her mouth in horror as she realized a part of Naruto's ribcage was visible past the swollen tissue.

In the center of the carnage was Naruto's necklace. Tied to it was a small glass vial, filled with little silvery pebbles, almost like metallic sand.

"Naruto, you used Kyuubi chakra with this around your neck? !" Naruto winced. "YOU IDIOT!" She ripped the vial from the necklace, breaking the string. "FUCKING MORON! DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO OPEN IT? !" His face twisted further. Tsunade got up. "You two! Stay here, and keep back! I'll send a team out when I get this secured." Sakura's eyes locked on the hand holding the innocent-looking jar. The skin wrinkled, as chakra danced over her fingers, trying to undo the damage. Tsunade withdrew her hand, quickly taking off.

Sakura shifted backwards, from Naruto, feeling the strange deviant energy sink into her skin like so many insidious flesh-eating worms. Naruto's face twitched furiously in its grimace. Itachi just stared, partly in curiosity, mostly in fixated horror. Sakura looked helplessly up into his purple eyes.

"Can't we do something?"

"Sakura, we don't know what is causing this. How can you help when you have no idea how to treat? You could kill him."

She looked back down to Naruto, chewing her lips. Hesitantly, she brought her hands to his maimed flesh, green auras floating around her fingers. "Sakura, no!" Itachi barked sharply, but it was too late. The chakra landed on Naruto's wounds.

Instantly, Naruto let out a bloodcurdling scream that sounded more animal than man. The poisonous halo, before just radiant, now twisted up into Sakura's healing chakra and into her hands. She pulled back, shrieking in terror. It felt like she had dipped her arms in acid. Prickling turned into stabbing turned into a burning she had never experienced. Naruto was now writhing and convulsing in fits. He vomited, and almost choked.

Itachi pushed Naruto onto his side to keep him from breathing in his own stomach contents. With the other hand, he grabbed Sakura around the waist, hauling her back. He activated his Sharingan, ratcheting it up to Mangekou, ignoring the dangerous pounding of his pulse in his ears. Black fire ignited around Sakura's blistering hands. Almost immediately, the black fire extinguished. Itachi didn't pause to consider the implications of this discovery, sparking more black fire. Sakura sobbed desperately in pain. His eyes stung, and it was getting hard to breathe, but his desire to protect Sakura was far stronger than his self-preservation. Finally, the fire held; white, but steady. Itachi ripped it away from her with a smooth motion, letting it fall on the grass. The energy had been consumed.

Swiftly, before the crushing in his chest got much worse, he strode over to the still screaming Naruto. "Look at me!" Itachi commanded sternly. It penetrated the fog of agony, and blue eyes met red.

The screaming stopped.

Itachi let the Sharingan fade away, coughing weakly. He came back to Sakura, tucking her head into his chest to comfort her. Her hands were red and slightly blistered, but the evil aura was gone. He took slow deep breaths, trying to calm her as much as soothe his raw lungs. As soon as she calmed, though, he turned away from her to hack wetly.

"Itachi, are you okay?" Sakura came around to peer with concern at him. Again, the sour-tasting, sticky blood spilled from him. He nodded wiping his lips.

"It wasn't that much this time," he said hoarsely, still catching his breath. "You?" Sakura looked down at her hands, then surrounded them with healing energy. This time, the skin repaired, remaining only slightly red. She cast a glance at Naruto's blank, unconscious eyes.

"Where did you send him? And how are you keeping him there?" Itachi held up a finger for her to wait, coughing again. He spat the bloody mucus from his mouth, grimacing.

"It's not really a genjitsu. I put him into his subconscious. He's sleeping." Itachi straightened, still panting through his mouth. "Where he went, I don't know." Sakura flexed her fingers and winced. As if on cue, both looked to Sakura's hands, to Naruto's charred flesh, and on to the "black" fire flickering brightly on the grass.

"What the hell is this?" Sakura muttered under her breath.

**Kudos to anyone who can guess what's going on. Thank you for your patience, and review sil te plait!**


	16. Death

**GAH! Bad writer! *slap slap* So many delays! Oh well. Enjoy!**

"SAKURA! What did you do? !" Tsunade was back with a team of three medic nin. She grabbed her apprentice's hands roughly, making Sakura squeak in pain. "Now I have to deal with you too! Yokoi! Pick up Sakura and bring her with us." The medical ninja behaved almost afraid. They plucked at Naruto's limbs gingerly, looking at each other uneasily.

"I can run just fine, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura protested, but the Hokage shot her a sharp look that silenced her. Itachi, still disguised as Yokoi, gently cupped an arm under hers and crouched to scoop up her knees. Sakura noticed he was still breathing a little rapidly. "Are you going to be alright?" she whispered into his ear. He nodded, giving her one of his perfectly tender looks.

"Come on you fucking pussies, just pick him up!" Naruto was finally picked up, flopping around like a dead fish. Tsunade paused to pick up the broken necklace with a sad air, then led the way back to the village, the medics close behind, and Itachi bringing up the rear. He chose not to move as fast as the others.

"Sakura, what were you thinking trying that? Who knows what would have happened?"

She leaned her head against his shoulder, taking in his scent. "I had to try something."

"You could have died."

She cupped his neck with one hand to hold her face closer to his warmth and comfort. "You wouldn't have let me die. I knew you could save me." Itachi didn't retort, just clutching her tighter against his chest.

Sakura felt she could have stayed there happily to the end of time. His jumps were smooth, not bouncing like so many other shinobi were wont to do. She could really smell him here, right up against his skin. His scent was much lighter than other men she had been close to. Most men reeked of sweat and sun, which they desperately tried to cover with large quantities of cologne. Not Itachi. Itachi had the musky scent that was distinctly a man's, but there was a freshness to it, like a forest after the rain. Her nose twitched as she noted the sour smell of the blood undertoned it.

All too soon, they were at the hospital, being rushed into a special unit.

"Take off your clothes," A doctor wearing scrubs, gloves, and a mask ordered her sharply. Itachi looked at him with equal daggers, his irises flashing red.

"Yokoi, it's okay," Sakura reassured him. Itachi still glared. "Please, Yokoi-san. I promise I am in good hands. Wait outside." Grudgingly, Itachi turned away and left the room. Sakura faced back to the doctor. "Take off my clothes? !"

"We need to get that energy off of you before it does more damage." He pointed to Sakura's red hands.

"We already got it off!"

"Your clothes are probably contaminated too. I'm sorry, but you have to." A nurse came up to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Sakura sighed, lifting her top over her head.

O*O*O*O*O*

As soon as the doctors had cleared her, Sakura had on a pair of ill-fitting scrubs and was in Naruto's room. He was screaming again, the blistering spreading over more skin.

As the day wore into night, Naruto's condition did nothing but go downhill. They gave him blood and plasma, healing energy, antidotes for every known poison. Not even the heavy doses of morphine gave him a moments respite.

Itachi watched as Sakura dashed in and out of the room, listening to Naruto's wretched cries. He cried for Sarutobi. He cried for Sasuke. He cried for his mother. But most of all, he screamed a prayer for death. It chilled Itachi deeply to hear this. Everyone knew Naruto's lust for life was indomitable, but the pain had broken him. Every once in a while, Itachi would flick on his Sharingan for a second as Sakura whisked past him, to check her condition. Then, a few minutes before midnight, as she was about to head back in the room, he caught her.

"Sakura-chan, please, there's nothing more you can do." Itachi pulled at her arms as gently as he could, but she ripped them from his grip.

"No! I've got to keep going!"

"Sakura, you're almost drained. You'll kill yourself."

"NO! No I can't!" Tears gathered in her eyes. She wiped them away angrily, moving back to Naruto's room. Itachi wrapped his arms around her body, preventing her arms from lifting. She fought against him. "Let go of me!"

"Sakura, stop," he whispered into her ear, refusing to let her move. Sakura tried to summon her chakra to force him away, but it wouldn't come. The truth dawned on her that Itachi was right, that she didn't have any strength left. Her legs gave out underneath her, and she crumbled to the floor, crying weakly. Itachi swung her up in his arms, cuddling her close to his heart. "Let's go home. A few hours of sleep and some food, and I'll bring you back personally."

With that, he whipped out of the hospital. Within seconds, he was at her apartment, opening the door with a flick of his hand. When he stooped to place Sakura on her bed to rest, her hand clutched at his collar with surprising strength. He looked down at her tear stained face. Without saying anything, Itachi leaned down and kissed her softly.

Sakura grabbed at him harder, crushing her lips against his. She smelled smoke as the henge cleared from Itachi's face. After pulling back to look at his real face for a second, she lifted herself up to kiss him again, opening her mouth when Itachi's tongue asked for entrance.

Itachi let himself be pulled down until he almost fell over, but when he resisted, Sakura just fisted the vest he wore and yanked him over her. He ended up with one foot on the floor, the other on the bed, Sakura in between his legs. Intoxicated with the smell of her, he didn't stop to question anything she was doing. If she asked, he would give.

Her hands started grabbing at the zip on his vest, ripping it open, yanking the vest around his shoulders. Itachi lifted his arms one by one to let the vest be pulled off of him, never breaking contact with her lips. Sakura rolled, flipping them so that Itachi was on his back. He ripped his gloves off, grabbing her around the back of her neck, pulling her in for a deeper kiss. They only paused to let Sakura remove her scrub top, before crashing back together again. The fabric binding her breasts was quickly unwound and discarded with the other clothes. Itachi wrapped his arms around her bare back, pulling her down. His lips left hers, a split second and they were on her nipples, lavishing them with every sensation.

Sakura moaned and panted over Itachi, making his breath pick up. Her breasts were perfect, not too big, just a handful, with the most wonderfully responsive candy-pink nipples. He sat up, and Sakura's long legs automatically wrapped up around his waist. He felt her claw at his shirt hem, and allowed it to be removed. She grasped his face before he could resume his delicious ministrations, bringing him in for another kiss. The sensation of bare skin against bare skin was electric.

Itachi knew what he was to do. He laid back down, and assumed the dominant position again on top. Sakura groaned, half frustration, half pleasure. He dragged her to the edge of the bed, him kneeling on the floor, her legs parted. Sakura bit her lip, watching him intently as he pulled slowly on the drawstring of her scrubs, then curled his fingers around the waistband, inching the clothing down. She squirmed nervously, but Itachi soothed her with little kisses trailing the path of exposed skin. Finally, with a little flick, the pants were off, and Sakura was naked, though her thighs were glued firmly together. Itachi traced little lines with his fingertips over her flesh, up and down, waiting.

Hesitantly, her knees parted, and she was open in front of him. Itachi didn't leave time for her insecurities, just pushing his face into her sex, giving the warmth a slow kiss. Sakura let out a soft cry, grabbing onto Itachi's hair. He raised her legs to allow him proper access, acquainting himself with her feel, her smell, her taste. It was more amazing than he had ever imagined. He traced her entrance with his tongue, and he could feel it, what he had to break. She was plenty wet, as she was the day before. He brought his tongue up to her clit, sliding a digit into her. Sakura's back arched, pulling Itachi in further. He added the next finger, working it up and around, making her writhe and cry out. Her moans were increasing in pitch and volume with each stroke. It didn't take her long to get to the edge. As she tipped over, Itachi took a deep breath, then firmly shoved three fingers in, breaking her hymen. Sakura screamed as a wave of pleasure-pain overtook her, shaking and convulsing madly. Itachi tasted the edge of blood.

When he came back up, Sakura was panting hard, eyes watery. Itachi waited for her to say something, to protest. He knew that in the technical sense, she was no longer a virgin, but he hoped that she would understand why and allow him the honor. She shot up, taking apart his pants. Before he could ask, her mouth was on him, around him, engulfing him. His mouth dropped open in shock, unable to catch air.

Sakura noted that he was not as large as the genjitsu had made him seem, and this pleased her, in a strange way. He was still plenty to work with. Not knowing what exactly one should do in this situation, she simply rolled her tongue up and down the shaft, kissing the head in between. She tasted the drop of pre-come in her mouth and stopped, looking up at him. She knew what she wanted, and she didn't care about anything else. Itachi looked back down at her, lips parted, almost as if asking for her permission.

Sakura stood, keeping their eyes locked. Long moments passed, hovering on the edge of the irreversible. Finally, he put his hands on her, guiding her down to the bed, his hardness brushing the inside of her thighs, making her desperate for him. With deliberate slowness and care, he slid into her.

Itachi's ministrations had clearly done their intention. There was no resistance, and when Sakura gasped, it was in rapture, not pain. Itachi closed his eyes, loving the feel of her grasping around him. He stayed there for a few seconds, until Sakura forced him out of his trance with a fierce kiss. She bucked up against his hips as he began to move, trying to take him in deeper. Sakura's legs came up around his waist again, trying to pull him in, make him pick up the pace. Itachi teased her a little, going in and out painfully slowly. Sakura protested by raking her fingernails down his back. At this, he pushed harder and faster, a groan escaping his throat.

As the pace increased, they had to break their kiss to breathe. Sakura's pants were laced with moans and cries of pleasure. Itachi watched her thrash her head from side to side, deciding he had never seen something more erotic in his entire life. She seized his head again, kissing him harshly, until a long scream tore from her, her core sucking and squeezing on him until he saw red, and was taken into her orgasm. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder and neck, letting out a long deep moan, letting himself go inside of her. She took all of him in, as she always had, absorbing and engulfing him.

As his orgasm subsided, he barely had the breath to whisper into her ear, "I love you Sakura." He listened her pant, her limbs wrapping around his body to hold him close.

"And I love you, Itachi."

They were the words he had always wanted to hear.

**Review please!**


	17. A Good Life

**After much writer's block, here it is! Kudos again to anyone who can guess what's happening to Naruto.  
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Sasuke shook his head vigorously. _Shut up!_ Orochimaru may have be incorporated into his psyche, but he sure as hell wasn't being quiet about it.

_"I know where he is, Uchiha. Free me! Kill him!"_

Sasuke clenched his fists in anger. _What would you know about it, asshole?_ He heard Orochimaru chuckle inside his head.

_"Everything, my Sasuke. The information was delivered just before you killed me."_

The youngest Uchiha growled. _Hence your haste to take over._ The snake's silence was enough of an answer. _Where is he?_

_"Free me and I'll tell you."_

"You will tell me NOW, or I will trap you for an eternity in your worst memories!" Sasuke forgot this was all in his head, screaming like a lunatic into the air. Orochimaru's displeasure was clear.

_"You can't kill him without me, you know that. I'll tell you where he is, but you will free me when the time comes."_

"Where is he? !"

O*O*O*O*O*O*

"Mother fucker…" A loud beeping awoke Sakura from a sound sleep. She groaned, pulling a pillow over her face to muffle the annoying sound.

"Sakura-chan, your alarm is going off." A deep voice behind her mumbled sleepily, the owner's hand shaking at her ribcage to get her attention. Without thinking, she reached for the alarm and shut it off. She was about to go back to sleep when it hit her.

Sakura sat bolt upright in bed, setting the pillows flying. Her eyes scanned the room. Naked, sunlight, messy sheets, clock, NAKED MAN IN BED. "Fuck!" She fell out of the bed onto the floor.

Itachi poked his head over the side of the mattress. "Are you alright, Sakura?" His hair was gorgeously mussed, eyes heavy lidded yet concerned. She sputtered for a second before remembering she was naked. Her hands slapped over her breasts and groin to cover what she could, blushing. Itachi squinted up at her clock. "This can't be right."

"What?" She peered at the clock as well and blinked in shock. "It's my Saturday alarm."

"At nine?" Itachi looked at her with surprise. "We slept eight hours?"

"I never sleep eight hours. I always have insomnia." Sakura met his gaze, and the memories of the night rushed back to her. She flushed an even deeper shade of red as she noticed the soreness between her legs. Itachi was still looking at her, brow furrowed.

"Sakura?" His tone caught her attention, tearing her away from her thoughts. He sounded unsure and worried. Her lips parted as she remembered the tenderness he had lavished on her the night before, the care he had took in her pleasure, the sympathy for her pain. She bit her lip.

"Itachi…did you mean what you said last night?" Itachi's eyes softened, his face relaxing.

"I am a man of few words, Sakura. But only you could make me say that." He extended his hand to her. "Of course I meant it." Sakura glowed with joy, taking his invitation to come back into the bed. She wormed under the sheets to be close to his solid blazing heat as he kissed her sweetly. She held him close, skin to skin, enjoying the feel of being together.

"Wait," she said suddenly. "How did you not die? !" Itachi chuckled.

"I was wondering that myself. Sheer willpower, maybe," he murmured against her lips before pressing his mouth to hers again. "Sakura," he said in between kisses, as if he couldn't bear to tear himself away from her soft lips. "Why do you have a Saturday alarm?"

"Oh, that's just for rounds at the hos-" Sakura stopped, eyes wide. "Naruto." She shot out of bed, running to her closet, riffling around for her clothes. Itachi, suddenly serious, got up as well, pulling on clothes he must have dropped off yesterday in the apartment. "Fuck. I can't believe I forgot all this. We have to- Mmph!" As she turned to talk to Itachi, an orange segment was stuck in her mouth. Mysteriously, he had gotten dressed before her and come back with a peeled orange. The second she had swallowed the fruit, he stuck another piece in her mouth.

"Talk later. Finish this, and you can eat more on the way." He put the rest of the orange in her hands, sweeping from her bedroom back to the kitchen when a beeper went off. Sakura did as she was told, going to the bathroom and scraping back her messy hair. The rest would have to wait.

She finished the last slice as she went to the living room to get her shoes. Itachi came out of the kitchen, holding toast covered in peanut butter. She didn't reach for it, opting to open her mouth to accept the toast, clamping it between her teeth as she did the straps on her sandals. He was in and out of the kitchen one more time, shaking her silver thermos. "I have green tea." Sakura was surprised at how much he could find in her cupboards, but she assumed he had gone through yesterday while she was working. "Let's go."

She nodded sharply and stood, before a sharp pain made her sit back down on the couch. Itachi kneeled in front of her, concerned. "Are you in pain?" She nodded. "….Between your legs?" She nodded again, slightly embarrassed. Itachi half-smiled in relief. "That's normal. We can get you pain killers at the hospital?"

"Yes, but I don't want to be drugged up," Sakura protested, squirming uncomfortably.

"Not narcotics. A little ibuprofen and some lidocaine and you'll be fine. The pain should be gone by tomorrow." Sakura quirked an eyebrow.

"How do you know all this?" The suspicion was clear in her voice. Itachi's smile widened.

"You don't get to be twenty without learning a thing or two about sex, Sakura-chan."

"You're twenty? !" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I just-" Sakura's nose twitched. "You seemed older." Itachi sighed, rolling his eyes to look at the ceiling.

"Let's just get you to the hospital. I'll carry you."

"Tsunade won't let me work if she sees you carrying me."

"I'll put you down just before the gate," Itachi reassured her, making a hand sign and putting on his henge.

"Fine, Yokoi-san." Sakura finished the toast as Itachi let out a loud, rolling laugh. Sakura was startled by the sound. She had never heard Itachi laugh anymore than a mild chuckle.

"You're making me feel like an old man."

"I can't call you Itachi when you look like that! It doesn't seem right!" Sakura protested. Itachi snorted, still smiling. He scooped her up in his arms, up against his strong chest, just where Sakura loved to be.

As they left out the window into the rain, Sakura's thoughts swirled confusedly. Within a day, her life seemed to be falling apart, but Itachi took all of that away. In a crisis, Sakura didn't like to be distracted, putting her whole self into the problem until it was solved. But here was this man, this criminal no less, that could make her stop and think of something else. He gave her a pleasure she had never known, not only in the bedroom, but inside her heart. She felt safe to give herself away completely, putting her trust in him to take care of her. Sakura hoped never to let this feeling go, even when he was gone.

Her heart clenched as she thought of this. He had a condition, a fatal one. Itachi would die someday. Even so, a bubble of hope swelled in her chest. Given time, she would save him, and they would together bring Sasuke home, to his family, where he was meant to be.

Itachi was stewing over similar thoughts. Sakura was something else. With her, everything was gone, his focus on her, and her alone. He wanted to give the world to her, protect her, take care of her, make her happy forever. Even Sasuke was out of his mind when her lips touched his. Thinking of Sasuke made everything stop for a second. Sakura's scent wafted to his nose, touched with the slight aroma of their coupling the night before. The plan had changed when she came into his life, and he would have to fight to keep this new life. He decided he would have to try to explain to Sasuke. He doubted Sasuke would ever understand, but maybe, just maybe, the bond of brotherhood would shake him enough to give Itachi time to tell him everything. Sasuke wasn't a child anymore. He deserved to know.

"Drink," Itachi said simply, waving the thermos in his captive hand. She took it obediently, taking delicate sips. "We're almost there." At the hospital entrance, Itachi set her down and opened the gate, wiping the wet hair from his eyes. He whispered, "Walk from your hips and keep your knees as close together as possible without limping. Short steps, but fast." Sakura shook her shoulders and neck out, following Itachi's instructions, trying not to wince.

The first medication cart they passed, Sakura typed her code into and took out two foil packets and dashed into the lady's room. She was out in less than thirty seconds, sighing with relief.

"Better?"

"You were right." Sakura was walking much faster after that, just shy of running, up the stairs and down the halls. The hospital was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday, but maybe Sakura was just blocking everything out. Now that she was out of pain, her mind was focused on Naruto. But when she got to his door, she froze. The room was dark. Her hand hovered over the door handle.

"Sakura." Itachi touched her arm. "Just go in. Trust me, your imagination is worse than reality." Slowly, her shaking fingers wrapped around the handle, inching it open, the light from the hallway spilling into the room.

A gentle, steady beeping greeted her. Hinata stood next to the bed, checking a chart. She looked up at the pair. "Good morning, Sakura-san."

"He-is he-" Hinata smiled pleasantly.

"He's alive. A little worse for wear, and he'll have to rehabilitate for at least six months, but if nothing else goes wrong, we should be able to save him." Sakura laughed a little, a few tears slipping from her eyes. "Oh, Sakura-senpai, please don't cry." Hinata put a hand on her shoulder as Sakura approached. "And please don't be startled. He doesn't look the same right now."

By the dim light, Sakura could see Naruto most definitely didn't look right. Streaked blisters covered one cheek, half healed into raised scars. As she ran a hand over his forehead, a chunk of hair came with it. Sakura ran her fingers through his hair to see what was going on, and more hair came with it. "He's losing his hair?"

Hinata nodded. "His white blood cell count is also dropping, so he's being moved to a clean room in the next hour. It's still at a level where he can fight disease, but by this morning's readings, he will have no white blood cells in 48 hours. We are keeping his counts up with medication and plasma."

"You've grown, Hinata." Sakura looked at the purple haired Chuunin. "You only started learning this a few months ago." Hinata half-smiled, blushing a little.

"Naruto-kun needs me now to be a good doctor. I will do my best." Sakura nodded, looking back at her friend.

"How did you do it?" Hinata suddenly went silent, eyes downcast. "Hinata, what's wrong?" Hinata stalled for several more seconds. Itachi felt a squirming in his stomach, an ominous feeling.

"Tsunade…..She….Did you ever hear of how Gaara-sama was brought back to life?"

Sakura went white. "What did she do?"

Hinata shook her head. "I don't quite know. One minute, Naruto is begging to die, and the next….Tsunade was on the ground, and Naruto's screaming had stopped. His vitals stabilized within minutes, but we've been unable to wake Tsunade-sama. She's in a coma. I'm sorry, Sakura-san." Sakura swallowed hard.

"I'm sure our Hokage knew what she was doing." She looked back to Naruto, his chapped lips parted, shallow breaths slipping out between them. Itachi came into the room to touch Naruto's arm, his brow furrowed. Hinata looked questioningly at Itachi. "Oh, Hinata, this is Yokoi. He was with us when we found Naruto." Hinata mouthed "oh."

"What did this, Hinata-isha?" Itachi referenced her as a doctor, making Hinata blush and shake her head.

"Oh, no, I'm not a doctor yet. I'm just in school." Hinata glanced back at Naruto's scars. "And Tsunade-sama didn't tell me. But whatever it was, it caused this; hair loss, nausea, immune loss, blistering, swelling, bleeding. We are incredibly lucky he's not dead." Hinata took her turn to touch Naruto, caressing the scars and blisters with supreme empathy, her expression complicated. "Just survive a little longer, Naruto-kun." She spoke directly to Naruto, as if he could hear her somehow, as if they were alone. "You can do it." Hinata seemed to remember that Sakura and "Yokoi" were in the room and withdrew her hand sharply. For the first time, Sakura noticed the deep bags under Hinata's eyes.

"Hinata-chan, when was the last time you ate? Slept?" Hinata looked weary. "Why don't you eat something and take a nap? Go home for a few hours?"

"No," Hinata said firmly, shaking her head. "I need to look after Naruto-kun."

"Hinata, you're no good like this. I know what you are feeling; Yokoi-san here had to drag me away from Naruto last night, because I wanted to help. But you made him stable, and I'm here now. It's your turn to rest." Sakura put her hand on Hinata's shoulder sympathetically. "Please, Hinata. Lack of sleep makes you make mistakes." Hinata sighed heavily, nodding slowly. Sakura grabbed the top of the chart, easing it from the young woman's hands. Hinata kept her eyes on the floor as she left, as if ashamed that she had been convinced to leave. Sakura watched her carefully. "She really loves him, doesn't she?"

Itachi made a small noise of agreement. "Are they dating?"

"No, Naruto only found out that she had an interest a few days ago. He's not good at that stuff." Sakura sighed, looking back to Naruto. "Naruto, you better not quit. Now it's not just me and Sasuke; it's Hinata too. You die, I bring you back to life just to kill you again." Itachi made a half smile.

"You talk to him like he's your brother."

Sakura smiled as Naruto's breathing became deeper and slower, indicating that his pain was easing. "I guess he is."

**There you go. We're coming up closer to the end. *cries* NOOOOO! Review, plz.**


	18. Promise

**I don't own Naruto, and if I did, I wouldn't make Itachi so ebil.**

**Enjoy! Or not. Who knows?**

"_Eyes like mine….."_

"_Continue to live in a pathetic way….."_

"_Hate me, detest me…."_

"_Kill me."_

"AAAAAGH!" Sasuke grabbed his head, screaming in agony at the pain in his very mind, rending him into pieces. Orochimaru was laughing in his head in wicked triumph.

"_So you are mine, Uchiha! Where your brother was strong, you are weak, and you will pay the price!"_ Sasuke screamed louder, skin sloughing off to reveal sickly purple flesh underneath, the trademark wings bursting from his back. Opening the seal had never been so painful or violent. Through his squinted eyes, he could see Konoha's walls, ninja swarming like ants over and around it. His eyes stung suddenly, and he could see chakra like he never could before.

_Orochimaru….how did you….._

"_Finally my eyes! Your hate has given them to me!"_

Orochimaru now had the Mangekou.

O*O*O*O*O*

"That was really stupid of you, Tsunade-sama," Itachi said flatly. He didn't know what he was expecting; for her to sit up and made a snide remark? If only he were so lucky. Her face was pale and slack, half dead. She was only alive thanks to a respirator. She looked so old. Itachi sighed. "At least you picked someone good to be a regent." Hours after Tsunade's collapse, her orders were found signed and dated on her desk, as if she expected not to survive Naruto's recovery, appointing Kakashi as regent for her incapacitation, and official Hokage if she died, pending a search for a suitable replacement.

"Thanks, Opal." Itachi whipped around, starting. Kakashi leaned against the doorway. "The usual disguise?" Itachi nodded shortly. "Hm." Itachi tried to breathe slowly as possible.

"So you know?" Kakashi nodded.

"I knew the day you did it. What, did you expect me to try and kill you? You think so little of me, Opal."

"Hard to know what you're thinking behind that mask, Kiro." Itachi referenced him as Kakashi did him, by the codenames assigned to them on Black Ops missions. At one time they were "Kiro" and "Opal", making a motley name of "The Black Opal" from it.

Kakashi sighed, stepping back to free the threshold. "Just get over to Naruto and Sakura. We can talk later." Itachi understood that he was being dismissed my the new regent Hokage, but it was a good thing. It meant that this new leader accepted him back into the fold, preparing his return for after the crisis.

Itachi began to leave, but Kakashi's arm shot out to stop him. Itachi looked up, and saw that Kakashi's Sharingan eye was uncovered, staring out into the ether. Turning on his Sharingan, he instantly saw the problem. "If you are one of us, Itachi," Kakashi said coldly. "Then help us." Kakashi released him, and Itachi ran.

He shun shinned down the halls, quickly over to Naruto's new room. Sakura was outside the room, scrubbing up. Itachi seized her, causing Sakura to let out a yelp of surprise. "Itachi, what-"

"Sasuke's near Konoha, and he's not alone. Orochimaru is taking over his body." Sakura stared at him, face going white. "I have to go help him." Itachi turned to leave, but Sakura's death grip almost crushed his wrist.

"Come!" she ordered, dragging him out. "Tell me everything."

"That's all I know Sakura."

"No, it's not!" Her voice was full of fire and passion. Sasuke's absence and her romance with Itachi hadn't tempered her fierce desire to save her friend. "What do you see? !"

"Sakura, I can't use my Sharingan so frivolously, I think it's what's causing the bleeding."

"Let me worry about that." Sakura turned the knob of a door, but it didn't move. In one firm movement, her fist shattered the locked door's knob, allowing the door to swing meekly open. She forced Itachi in a chair, pulling out things from the refrigerator in the corner, and various drawers. "It's going to be cold." Itachi recognized the label on the vial; Factor XIII. "Flex your fist until it's gone and blood goes into the tube." None too gently, she shoved in the catheter, attached it to a thin plastic tube which fed into a small packet of the factor. The minute the catheter was inserted, Itachi knew she wasn't kidding about it being cold. It felt like ice was being fed into his veins. "Now, what did you see?"

Itachi flexed his arm, shivering slightly. "Sasuke and Orochimaru have become intertwined somehow. Both are fighting for control."

"Isn't that what happens when Orochimaru makes the switch?" Sakura filled a syringe, capping it firmly. She stuck the needle and syringe into the front pocket of Itachi's vest, along with a tube the size of a felt tipped pen. "That's calcium chloride and epinephrine. If you start to bleed, use the syringe. If you start to lose consciousness, only then use the epinephrine."

"No, Orochimaru would have forced Sasuke out if that had happened. Sasuke trapped Orochimaru inside himself, but he did it badly. Sasuke is so emotional right now, he has no control over his own mind, where Orochimaru is. He's maintaining some level of sanity, but it isn't long until his psyche is completely swallowed by that snake." Blood flowed into the tube, much to Itachi's relief. Sakura ripped it out, squeezing a cotton ball on the small wound. It scabbed within seconds. Itachi stood, discarding the cotton, taking the hitei-ate from his belt and tying it to his forehead securely. Sakura watched him apprehensively, before leaping on him and pressing a passionate kiss to his lips. Itachi kissed her back just as fervently.

"Promise to come back." Sakura's voice shook a little, her tone barely above a harsh whisper.

"Sakura, listen to me." He held her face in his hands, looking into those perfect sea green eyes. "The trouble with peace is that it never fights, and the trouble with wrong is that it's never right. I chose to be the demon, the criminal that would ensure the survival of Konoha. Even if I could, I wouldn't take anything I did back, because it meant that Sasuke would grow up in peace, and you would too. I can try to tell him, but you have to be prepared for him not to accept this. In all likely hood, he will kill me." Sakura started to cry in earnest, clutching herself to his chest. He stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head. "I don't regret it, Sakura. If what I did ensured that one day I would meet you, then it was all worth it. You gave me the most perfect time of my life I could wish for. I would die a thousand times if it meant I could see you just once." Thunder cracked outside, the heavy rains almost drowning out Sakura's desperate sobs. "I promise to fight for us, to do my best to come back with Sasuke, but I need a promise from you too." He tipped her head back up. "I need you to promise to bring Sasuke back, no matter what, and remind him what to live for. When revenge is gone, he won't know what to do with himself, and you need to teach him about family." Sakura had her eyes shut, a steady stream of tears rolling from her eyes. "Sakura, open your eyes." Reluctantly, she looked back at him, shaking violently as she saw tears in Itachi's eyes as well. "My death will be in vain if he can't truly live. Promise me." She nodded, breaking in a fresh wave of tears. "Good. That's good." They kissed like it was their last time, salty sweet with tears, just like their first only a few days ago.

That's when the first wall came down.

**AAAAGH! Short chappie, but if I didn't, the next chapter would be ten million words. Working as fast as I can. Ja!**


	19. When it Rains

Itachi shielded Sakura as a loud explosion went off. It shook the building, causing things to fall off the shelves and dust to rain down on them, but thankfully, nothing was broken. "I have to go."

He pulled away, but Sakura wouldn't let go. "I'm coming with you."

"No, you shouldn't," he said firmly. "I can't let you get in danger."

"He's my friend too, baka!" Itachi saw stars as Sakura whapped the back of his head. He rubbed it, staring in shock at the fire-breathing dragoness that had burst forth from sweet Sakura. "We're the only ones who know that he isn't trying to take down the village, it's Orochimaru!" Itachi half smiled, something close to a triumphant smirk.

"Come on then." He motioned. "Let's bring my brother home." Sakura smiled grimly back, the two taking off at high speed out of the hospital. When they reached the roof, the sight stopped them both. The heavy rains made everything fuzzy and dark, illuminated only by bright flashes of lightening.

"What the fuck is that?" Itachi turned on his Sharingan, letting the henge fall away to focus his energy.

"That's Orochimaru."

Sakura stared in horror at the eight writhing snakes bursting from the faint dot that was Sasuke. One wall of Konoha had been completely destroyed. Lightening crackled briefly, allowing Sakura a clearer look. He was screaming. "What do we do?"

"You get everyone back. I need space for what I must do, and I don't want anyone hurt." Itachi took off without waiting for her answer. He knew she would carry out his wishes. Itachi pushed into the fray, terrified people wailing and screaming around him, running away from the destruction. As he neared, he turned on his Mangekou, forcing himself not to recoil in pain and shock.

Orochimaru's chakra flowed in and out of his brother's eyes in a pattern Itachi recognized all too well. How he had done it, Itachi was not sure he wanted to know. Sasuke's eyes locked on Itachi's as he grew closer. For a second, he could see his brother in those eyes, caught between fury and pleading, before the madness of Orochimaru took over, sucking Itachi into the Nightmare.

Itachi wasn't going to take it lying down. If Orochimaru wanted mind games, that's what he'd get. Orochimaru conjured images of a young Sasuke, begging for death, cutting himself, trying to poison himself, trying to hang himself, screaming in agony with each failed attempt. _Just a genjitsu, Itachi. Hold it together._ Itachi fought back, sucking both Sasuke and Orochimaru into his own mind, twisting in inescapable pain. He heard his brother cry for release, but he forced himself to continue, this time knowing that it really was to save him. Orochimaru withdrew, manifesting himself externally, his slimy body coming forth from one of the white snakes.

"I see you've grown, Itachi-kun," he said in that sickly sweet voice. "Are you jealous I took your brother instead of you?"

"Get out of his body, you pathetic snake," Itachi shot back. "I'll have your freeloading ass off to hell."

Orochimaru laugh weezily. "Death wouldn't take me, Itachi-kun. Hell spat me back out."

"Wrong. Hell came for you on earth, and you clung like a leech to those strong enough," Itachi hissed.

"Strong enough? They are weaklings!" Orochimaru laughed harder. "They give anything for power, even if it means this!"

"And what does that say about you? ! You are a small child, afraid of the dark!"

Orochimaru's face became dark and grim. "I'm stronger than all of them! When my parents died, I did not wish to join them; I wished to be stronger than them, to live no matter what!"

"So you kill others in the process! Hypocrite!" Itachi spat. "At least be man enough to admit you are afraid!"

"I am not a man Itachi! I am a god!" Orochimaru shrieked over Sasuke's increasing cries. "And gods fear nothing!" Itachi started to cough, the river of blood making itself known. It spilled from his lips. His vision began to darken. "How could a mortal like yourself hope to ever kill me? !" Itachi didn't have time to use the first syringe, opting instead to use the epipen. He coughed harder at the increase in blood pressure forced more bleeding, but his vision returned enough to see Sasuke as a blur.

He didn't have much time left.

Itachi closed his eyes, conjuring first one eye, then the other to his last resort, the jitsu he knew could kill Orochimaru. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, a skeleton built itself in red around Itachi, standing taller than the wall, taller than Orochimaru's snakes. Flesh and armor built around the skeleton, forming Itachi's demon god, Susanoo.

Itachi couldn't see, except through Susanoo. His vision was completely gone. He could only feel where Orochimaru's and Sasuke's chakra was intertwined. His body became cold and heavy. He forced himself to make hand seals, raising his arms to command the demon. As the demon god moved to Orochimaru, he could feel the snake fighting back furiously, every jitsu bouncing off.

Finally, the god got a hold on Orochimaru's head snake, choking the head, holding the jaws open. A sword appeared, sutras written all down the side from Susanoo's cloak.

"The Soul-Sealing sword? !" Orochimaru's voice became high pitched in fear that Itachi darkly relished. He didn't have the breath to laugh, but inside, his perverse pleasure at destroying what had damaged his only brother was immense. The katana sunk itself into Orochimaru, who screamed loudly, his soul being sucked into the sword, his chakra being consumed and destroyed. Through the haze, he heard lightening and thunder as Orochimaru fought back, but it was useless against Susanoo. With one last shriek, Orochimaru was forever sealed inside the demon.

Sasuke had been freed.

Itachi still sensed a little, mostly that Sasuke still wanted to kill him, even though his chakra was weak. A few exploding tags were thrown, but Susanoo blocked them easily. Itachi would have to keep Susanoo up until he could no longer. He trudged towards the faint signal of his brother, each step harder than the last, blood pouring steadily from his mouth. More exploding tags, a few kunei and a few shuriken. They bounced off, not affecting Itachi's death walk. _Just a few more steps….. Just one more breath…._

Sasuke was backed into a tree, shaking, no energy left., too terrified to even breathe. Itachi kept coming closer, until he was just there, an arms length away. Itachi gurgled one more breath, bringing up his numb arm to tap his little brother on the forehead, saying softly, "Forgive me, Sasuke." He smiled, and knew no more.

O*O*O*O*O*

"NO!" Sakura shot over the rubble, watching the blood pour from Itachi's lips, his arm outstretched to tap Sasuke. His mouth formed words, then he fell to the ground, leaving a track of blood on Sasuke's pale face. The massive red demon faded as he fell limply.

Sasuke stood in horror for a second more, before taking off, screaming. Sakura ignored him, coming over to Itachi's still form. "Itachi," she shouted, checking his pulse. She couldn't feel anything. "No! Please…" She rolled him over, looking at his face. His eyes were half closed and dull, streaked with blood, but his face was peaceful. She shook violently, begging him over and over to come back. Finally, she just sobbed, her tears lost in the rain.

_My death will have been in vain if he can't truly live…_ Sakura heard his words in her head. She looked one last time at his blank face. Slowly, she stood. "I promise." And she took off after Sasuke.

He wasn't hard to find. He was weakened by the battle. Though his sprint was fueled by fear, Sakura was at full strength. He was still running when she caught up to him. She grabbed him by his ripped collar, dragging him to the ground. "Sasuke!" He was down on all fours, grabbing his wet hair and shaking. Sakura lifted his head, forcing him to look into her eyes. His eyes were red. "It's okay, Sasuke. They're gone. It's over." Her voice was soft and soothing. Sasuke clawed at her arms for support, sobs racking his shoulders. "It's over now. You're safe. I'm here." She gathered Sasuke's head to her chest, stroking the black locks she had missed so much. Sasuke clung to her and cried like a child until he passed out.

O*O*O*O*O*

"Sasuke, wake up. I know you're awake." Sasuke blinked uncomfortably. "Come on, I've been waiting." He rubbed his eyes, looking towards the voice. Something touched his nose. He grunted, trying to slap it away. He heard a laugh. "Then wake up." Finally, he saw. It was Sakura's smiling face. He blinked stupidly.

"Where am I?" The room looked unnaturally white. "Am I dead?"

Sakura chuckled. "Unless I'm mistaken, no."

"Tell the teme I'm going to get better before him." A voice that sounded like Naruto's came from behind a curtain.

"Shut up, baka!" Sakura quipped, sounding more playful than annoyed. Sasuke took in his surroundings. Sakura was sitting on the side of his bed, the light of a spring sun pouring through the window. With a gasp, he remembered what had happened, and he grabbed for his curse seal. Sakura smiled wider. "It's gone, Sasuke. You defeated them both." Her voice was soft and tender.

"You brought me back," he said back, staring in wonder. She nodded. "Why?"

"We're family, teme!" Naruto shouted from behind the curtain.

"Naruto, you're going to hurt yourself!" Sakura snapped.

"Did I-"

"No." Sakura cut off his insecurities. "It was a mission before your little stunt."

Sasuke was silent for long minutes, listening to Sakura and Naruto bicker like siblings. Family. They were family. Sasuke came to a conclusion long buried, one he didn't want to admit to before, but now it seemed right. He inched himself up to sitting. Sakura reached to fluff his pillow behind him, but he cupped a hand around her cheek. "Sakura, I love you. I owe you everything." A flash of pain went across her face, but it was quickly replaced by a soft smile.

"I love you too, Sasuke. Why do you think I keep coming back?" Sasuke leaned in and kissed her.

"Oi, teme, are you making out with her? ! That's so gross!"

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke mumbled against Sakura's lips, making Sakura laugh. "Get used to it."

O*O*O*O*O*O*

Epilogue:

Naruto made a full recovery. His scars healed thanks to Hinata's work, but he was sent away for two years to relearn Ninjitsu. The sickness caused his tenketsu to change.

Within weeks of Sasuke's return, Sakura was found to be pregnant. Sasuke proposed on the spot, but Sakura hit him and said she would not get married while looking and feeling like a cow. It was a very difficult pregnancy, and Sakura was bedridden for weeks. The labor was as easy as the pregnancy was difficult. It was a girl, and they named her "Tenmaki" after a joke that she would be "tensai" (genius). Sakura became the Uchiha matriarch three months later, moving into the Uchiha district and cleaning it up. An outdoor shine was constructed by Sasuke's old house, surrounded by cherry trees.

Hinata continued her studies as a medical student, achieving Jounin as a doctor.

Tsunade didn't survive the attack on Konoha, permanently passing control to a reluctant Kakashi. Shizune became the head of the hospital, Hinata as her student and assistant.

**(And because I know most of you are about to kill me…)**

A small moan escapes his lips. His fingers flex against his palms. Legs are shifted uncomfortably. When he opens his eyes, everything is blurry. He winces against the light.

"I can't believe it….Hinata-san, you are a genius."

A single word whispers like a soft breeze:

"Sakura…"

**I want to make my thanks to all who reviewed: Reina Reina, kisukebenihime, Morgan EF, OTURAN-IKAMUZU1, Dawn Destiny, TeenageCrisis, TheHeartBreaker, fuzzysoxftw, kamiccolo's rose, Feuerphoenix, ItaSaku-ness, wingchan7, ChicFreakSistaFierce, ToxicInsanity, Toyroys, and the one who wrote the most reviews, Mischa Rowe.**

**To be continued.**


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